On Thin Ice
by Michelle Loves Chocolate 99
Summary: A group of Socs begin to bully Ponyboy seeking vengeance for Bob. Things are going out of hand and Ponyboy can't talk to Darry or Soda about it. He thinks he can take care of himself, but really Pony can't handle it. Things are going too far and Johnnycake isn't their to save Ponyboy this time. Rated T for violence, underage drinking&smoking, and cursing.
1. An Unpleasant Walk Home

**Rated T for violence, underage drinking&smoking, and cursing**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders.**

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_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter One: "An Unpleasant Walk Home"**

It was the beginning of January, three months after Ponyboy turned in his theme, now inching four months. The snow sparkled in the cold air as it flew to the green and white ground, but Ponyboy wasn't paying much attention to it, rather towards the engraved rock in the ground he was standing right next to. Below him had laid his beloved best friend, someone who had died nearly three months ago-Johnny Cade.

Ponyboy was of course alone, that's how he wanted it to be. Even though Ponyboy had gotten over and used to Johnny and Dally's death, he still needed time to talk to his friend, and plus he didn't want anyone in the gang to see him cry. Ponyboy wanted to spend his last day of winter break alone, or at least the part where he visited Johnny and Dally.

When his teeth begun to shatter, it brought him back to reality and realize it had started to snow. He knew it wasn't that long from the fact that the shortly cut grass was still easily seen. Pony wiped his face and stuck his hands in his pockets before walking out of the cemetery.

The cool January breeze brushed against his red face and his cold rosy cheeks got even redder. It was freezing outside, but Ponyboy didn't care. It didn't bother him. If only if he wasn't as careless as he was at the moment he probably would have realized that he was being followed. But the fourteen year old never used his head and that was one of his biggest flaws.

Ponyboy didn't realize the shadows of the figures that were approaching him-the Socs. They had been stalking him the past few months.T hey knew his routes and places he often visited. Pony didn't know how many times he had been jumped by them since Johnny and Dally died. It seemed like almost everyday. Pony never told his brothers or his friends either. He was strong enough to take care of himself he didn't need help and plus they only attacked when he was alone.

A hand reached out just about to touch the boy's shoulder when he noticed he was being followed. Before the Soc had the chance to grab him, Pony had a switchblade out and flipped open. He started carrying one after he'd been jumped the third time in one week. He took it from his older brother Sodapop after Soda got a new one for his birthday in October. He didn't seem to notice it was missing.

"Stay away from me!" Ponyboy commanded. He wasn't in the mood to deal with them. Not now.

One of the Socs laughed. "Aw, is the little greaser scared?"

Truth is, Pony wasn't scared. He got used to this so much that it didn't scare him at all, it just annoyed him, but who wouldn't be annoyed? Being harassed by the Socs nearly everyday irritated Pony so much. He hasn't been himself in a long time. He just wished they would get bored and leave him alone, but they were Bob's friends. Bob Sheldon was a Soc who Johnny had killed in self defense when he and Ponyboy were jumped by Bob and some his friends. The others who were close to Bob blamed Pony even though it was Bob's fault for getting himself killed.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue? You greasers are nothing but stupid thugs who think they are tough but they aren't." Another Soc with dark brunette short curly hair laughed when Pony never replied. Ponyboy knew this Soc. He was very popular and was technically the head of the school and his name was Shane. "You're all just scum!"

Pony sighed. It wasn't unusual for greasers to be called this. But if the Socs just opened their eyes they'd realize they are they same. "Takes one to know one," he softly mumbled.

"What did you say?" The first Soc asked, he was getting angry just like the other four were.

Ponyboy tightened his grip on the knife. "I apologize. I didn't mean to upset you." A Soc started to step closer to him, and Pony took a step back. "You better watch it!"

"Or what? You're outnumbered grease!"

It was then Ponyboy realized it was five against one. It was usually only one or two Socs who would bully him, but now it was a large group. His heart began to pound, he wasn't scared before, but that was before he realized he was going to lose. He was surrounded and he couldn't escape.

"We're going to finish off what Bob started," Shane said, pulling out his own switchblade.

"And go to jail? Don't you think that would ruin your reputation?"

"Actually kid, getting rid of you would improve our reputation."

Ponyboy gulped. Were they really going to kill him? He couldn't tell if they were bluffing or not. That night at the fountain the Socs took things too far, and because of that, Bob was now dead and if Ponyboy and Johnny didn't have to go into hiding, Johnny and Dallas would both be alive. If these Socs went too far… Pony didn't even want to think about it.

The fourteen year old glanced at the five boys. He need to get away and when he spotted the smallest Soc he ran towards him, and pushed him to the ground, running away as fast as he could from the Socs, who were close behind him running as well, but Ponyboy was faster.

Pony slowed when he lost them, but he kept running until he got home. He paused as he got to the fence of his house. The snow was about three inches now, not a patch of grass was seen. It was a beautiful sight, and Pony wished he was able to watch the snow fall longer, but he couldn't. It was freezing and his brothers were probably curious of where he was.

The smell of cooking food and the sound of an extremely loud TV smacked Ponyboy in the face as he entered. He put the pieces together and figured Soda was cooking something unordinary for dinner and Two-Bit was watching Mickey Mouse.

"Hey kid," Two-Bit asked not taking his eyes of the television screen. "Where have you been all day?"

Pony paused for a moment before replying. "I was at the library doing research for this paper I have due tomorrow."

Two-Bit looked up from the screen and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you already finished that the first day of break?"

"I did, but this one was for extra credit and I'm failing English already."

Two-Bit focused back on the cartoon. "You're the only kid I know who does extra credit. Anyway did you run all the way home from the library or somethin'? You're breathin' like a dog after he played fetch the summer heat."

"Uh, yeah. It's freezing outside." Pony walked out of the room before Two-Bit could ask another question. He knew Two-Bit wasn't exactly buying the whole library thing, but if Pony told him he was at the cemetery instead, then his oldest brother, Darry would find out and and then Pony would probably get grounded. The cemetery is on the Soc's part of town, it was dangerous to go out there alone. it was dangerous to go anywhere alone.

Pony plopped down on his bed. After talking to Two-Bit, he realized that tomorrow was not going to be a great day at school from what had just happened on his walk home. Tomorrow was going to be horrible.

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**I apologize for grammar/spelling mistakes. I proof read this only once and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue it so until I know I get a beta reader. Also I am sorry for the short length chapter, but usually I write short introductions. Please review and tell me what you think! I'll try to update next week if things go well.**


	2. School

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Two: "School"**

_Tuesday January 4th, 1966_

Due to the winter weather, the first day of second semester was canceled. But since the streets have been shoveled and the snow had stopped, it was reopened the next day unfortunately.

Even though he did not want to, Ponyboy reluctantly got out of Steve's car. Steve had been taking Two-Bit and Ponyboy to school since Pony can't legally drive and Two-Bit's car is really old and worn out.

Two-Bit sniffed the air. "Boy it's great to be back!" Pony never really understood Two-Bit all the time. He was eighteen-going-on-nineteen and was still a junior in high school because he enjoyed it so much but didn't even bother to actually pay attention in class or ever do his homework. Ponyboy didn't have Two-Bit in any of his classes but wondered what he actually did during them.

"Shut up Two-Bit!" Steve shouted, shutting the driver's side door. His eyes looked tired and weak as if he didn't get any sleep last night, or perhaps the whole break. But Pony knew he did because he was passed out on his living room couch almost every morning he woke up.

Two-Bit rolled his eyes before darting into the school building like a little kid ready to see his friends that he hasn't seen in a while.

"What's wrong with you this morning?" Ponyboy asked after watching Two-Bit run off. His relationship with Steve wasn't so great, but Steve was still part of his gang-his now very small gang, and seeing Steve look the way he did worried him a little.

Steve rubbed his eyes tiredly before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm not feeling well that's all."

Steve walked away and headed into the building after mumbling his answer and Ponyboy sighed. He didn't want to go into the building at all. It was going to be an awfully long day and he wasn't as anxious as Two-Bit was to get it started. He didn't even want it to start. Pony looked around, thinking about ditching. He never did it before, but there was a first time for everything. Unfortunately, there were too many teenagers spread across the school lawn, and a few teachers too even though it was chilly outside. It was no use to run. He was just going to have to put his big boy pants on and deal with it.

First period was easy. The Socs that always harassed him weren't in that class, and the Socs that were in there didn't really bother him. They only spoke to each other when it was necessary because of the class project they were working on. If it wasn't for that, they'd probably wouldn't even know each other's names. Unluckily second period wasn't as fine and dandy as the first. Second period was where the day really began. Biology class was filled with Socs, and Shane was in there.

_Maybe I could just ditch right now… the door is right down the hall…_

"Nice to see you again Ponyboy Curtis," Shane said in a mocking voice as the fourteen year old brunette stood in the doorway of the classroom considering entering or not. Over the past few months, Ponyboy's bleached hair slowly began to turn back to it's original color. It looked almost normal again, but Pony wished it was fully normal. Looking in the mirror and seeing little pieces of blonde reminded him of Johnny.

Pony walked passed him and tried to ignore Shane as much as he could, but tripped over the Soc's foot as he had stuck it out in front of Ponyboy. Shane and the other Socs who were there laughed. "Watch where you're going grease!"

The fourteen year old sarcastically apologized and took a seat in the very back and was relieved when the bell rang and the teacher walked into the room, brightly smiling and welcoming the students back from their almost three week break with a bunch of packets filled with questions and paragraphs to read and complete by the end of the week. One thing that he didn't miss over the break was the homework. Ponyboy liked school, but was hardly ever in the mood to actually do school work anymore. He just couldn't concentrate.

When Mr. Ford finished up his lecture, he took a seat at his own desk and let the students talk or work the last few minutes they had left of class. Since Ponyboy didn't have friends in this hour he worked. Or at least attempted too. He felt Shane eyeballing him, and he felt very uncomfortable. The bell rang and Shane waited in the hall for Pony to exit.

"Hey greaser!" Shane greeted warmly with a grin on his face, but it quickly turned upside down when Ponyboy deliberately ignored him. " Hey! Haven't your parents taught you to speak when spoken to? Or did they never get the chance before they were killed?"

"Will you just leave me alone?"

Shane brushed a small piece of curly hair off his forehead. "It's not my fault you're in this mess. I just wanted to have a little chat with you. No big deal."

"Well we chatted," Ponyboy said before walking away and politely saying goodbye sounding as sarcastic as he could. He didn't care that he was being rude to him, he wanted to _get away_ from him and the faster the better.

"Whatever."

Pony sighed. He had his small victory, but that wasn't going to last and he knew it. Walking away from Shane probably made it worse but he did not care. He just wanted to make it through the day in one piece instead of millions and avoiding Shane and the others as much as possible was the only way he could maybe get by. But the chances for that were slim-very slim. The Socs would find him eventually. Nobody could hide forever. It was nearly impossible.

The next two periods were similar to the second. He survived and it wasn't that bad. He met Two-Bit at lunch sitting up against the wall outside the school building fiddling with his newest switch-blade he got for Christmas from Steve and Sodapop.

"Where's Steve?"

Two-Bit sighed. "Felt really sick so he went home early. I guess we're walkin' home today."

Pony let out a shaky deep breath. The last time he walked home he got jumped, and the time before that, and the time before that. At least he wasn't going to be alone, good ol' Two-Bit was with him. He'd be his bodyguard and wouldn't even know it!

"Well he shouldn't be here anyways. He wasn't lookin' too good this mornin'."

"Ain't that the truth!" Two-Bit responded as he was putting away his knife, and took out a cigarette pack. He handed one to Ponyboy and then took one out for himself. "Why are you so nervous today, Pony?"

Pony lit his cigarette and then looked at Two-Bit. "Huh? I ain't nervous!"

"Shoot kid, you ain't fooling me. I know you weren't at the library last night, and you were actin' funny this mornin' and right now. You're jumpy and if you don't tell me why I'm going to tell Darry."

"Two-Bit-" Pony started but Two-Bit cut him off.

"The last time I didn't tell Darry somethin' important, you ended up being in the hospital, and it was all my fault because I didn't tell anyone you were sick because you promised me you were okay."

The fourteen year old thought about that time. He had been asleep and delirious for about three days after the rumble… after Johnny and Dally died. He didn't remember being in the hospital at all, but his brothers told him all about it when he was finally awake and knew what was going on around him.

"Two-Bit, I'm sorry about that. Don't go blaming yourself for the things I do, alright? It wasn't your fault I got sick. And if somethin' was truly going on, then I'd tell you or someone else."

Two-Bit put his cigarette out as the bell rang and Pony did the same. "I hope so kid. I'd kill myself if we lost anyone else. First your parents, then Johnnycake and Dallas… I just hope those Socs are happy that they have such a better life than us. They've taken so much from us."

_Trust me, they are far from happy_.

"Come on Two-Bit, I know you wouldn't do that… you..you couldn't!"

"And you didn't expect Dally to react the way he did either, didn't you?"

Pony sighed as Two-Bit walked off to go to his next class. Two-Bit was always happy and joking, but apparently not today. Two-Bit didn't mean what he said. He couldn't have. He was Two-Bit after all. Life was lollipops and gummybears to him. He was too happy and goofy to kill himself. He would never have the courage or take it seriously.

o0o

The day moved on faster after lunch. The last few classes he had didn't have too many Socs in them and he managed to keep his distance from them during the passing periods fortunately. Two-Bit Mathews met Pony at his locker after school had ended.

"You ready?"

Pony nodded. Even though he wasn't ready, he was as ready as he was ever going to be. He wished Steve wasn't ill and was still here, but he wasn't and now they had to walk home. Not only was it freezing outside because of the snow, but Pony was still a little on edge, and Two-Bit noticed it but kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to hear Ponyboy come up with another lame excuse.

The two boys headed out the door, and were nearly blinded by the sun reflecting off of the white and gray snow. After adjusting to the light, Pony sighed. The snow always looked so pretty until footprints got marked in them and people began to shovel. It always ruined it's beautiful appearance.

"Two-Bit?" Ponyboy asked softly. His friend hasn't said a word the whole walk. Two-Bit looked back at Ponyboy, waiting for him to continue. "You didn't mean what you said earlier, did you?"

Two-Bit shrugged. "I'm not going to promise you I won't. If we lost anyone else then well I guess we'd probably all eventually die young, I might as well make it a way that I want to die."

Pony was about to protest but before he could open up his month, he saw a red mustang trailing behind the two of them at a very slow pace. "Two-Bit-"

"I know kid. Just stay cool." Two-Bit took the knife out of his pocket and hid it in the sleeve of his jacket for easier access if he really did need to use it.

The fourteen year old gulped. Two-Bit didn't understand that you can't possibly stay cool-not with these guys. This was Shane Whitfield's gang, and they weren't afraid to actually _kill_ you. They thought it was funny and they actually liked making you feel scared just like Bob was before he died. Fortunately the other boys who were there that night at the fountain understood what the rivalry between Socs and greasers did. It hurt both of the gangs. If they only stopped bullying and beating up each other, things would be okay.

"Look for a pop bottle, a stick, anything to defend yourself with," Two-Bit mumbled to Ponyboy as the car slowed to a stop. Instead, Pony slid the blade out of his pocket and tucked it under his sleeve as well. Two-Bit didn't know Pony was carrying a blade now-nobody did. But since the ground was covered with snow except for the streets and the horribly done sidewalk, he wouldn't be able to find anything that Two-Bit described.

"What are two greasers like you doing out here by yourself?" The smallest one that Pony had pushed yesterday to get away said as all five of them got out of the car. Pony couldn't believe they were actually doing this with Two-Bit around. It was very unlike them.

"Minding our own business, just like what you should be doing."

"Should but why waste our time doing something else when this is much more fun?" casually said Shane. Pony looked over at Two-Bit. His eyes were cold and locked on the Socs.

_Why is he so out of character?_

A car drove by, and the Socs watched it until it was out of sight, but before they turned their heads back, Two-Bit had Pony by the arm pulling him along as they both ran off trying to get away. The Socs hurried and packed up into their car.

"Ponyboy," Two-Bit said after the made a turn on the icy sidewalk. They weren't in the Socs sight but they both knew they would turn around that corner in seconds. "You're the fastest runner. Hide in those bushes as they pass and I'll lead them off to the lot. When you are out of their sight run home as fast as you can to get Darry or Soda and meet me there. We can't handle them ourselves we're too outnumbered. And Pony when I say run fast, I mean it, got that?"

Pony nodded and then jumped behind the bush right before the Socs turned. He waited for three minutes exactly and got up and ran towards his house, hoping that someone was home. Soda was probably still at work since he didn't get off until five usually, but because of the weather, Darry probably couldn't even get on a roof, so he could be home… hopefully.

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**I hope this chapter was satisfying to all of you. Sorry for typos and errors. I believe I got all of them but who knows. I'll try to update next week, maybe even this weekend if things go alright.**

**Thanks to everybody who reviewed, I'm glad you all like this story so far! I'll try to keep it interesting! **

**-MLC99**


	3. The Note

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Three: "The Note"**

_Tuesday January 4th, 1966_

Ponyboy thought it was amazing how he had managed to make home without slipping and falling on the ice. He was a clumsy kid, and it was unusual for him not to do something like that.

He made it home in a record of time and was relieved to see Darry's truck parked on the front. If he didn't see it he would've had to run all the way to the DX to see if Soda could get off of work and if he couldn't, it would just be him and Two-Bit against five Socs.

Ponyboy ran into the house and yelled for Darry as he threw his book bag onto the couch. He probably would've been there sooner if he didn't have twenty-five pounds of books weighing him down but he did and hoped those few extra seconds it took to get there wouldn't have cause any trouble for Two-Bit.

Darry walked into the room as Ponyboy tried his best to catch his breath. It wasn't track season and Pony wasn't in shape yet.

"Two-Bit's in trouble. A couple of Socs are after him in the lot."

Darry quickly grabbed a jacket and was out the door before Pony could blink. The fourteen year old then quickly joined his brother but Darry stopped before making it all the way down the front steps.

"Ponyboy, you stay here!" Darry told his youngest brother. Pony opened his mouth to protest but Darry cut him off. " I don't want you gettin' hurt or sick from this weather."

"Alright," Pony mumbled with a sigh, and Darry took off running towards the lot after he was sure Pony would stay.

Pony went back into the house and waited. There was nothing he could really do. Darry wouldn't let him fight the Socials so he couldn't help at all... Maybe that was a good thing though. The Socs were after Ponyboy- not Two-Bit or Darry. Maybe if Pony didn't show up they'd back off.

_But what if they didn't?_

Ponyboy could help but think it. It was his fault for getting Two-Bit into this mess in the first place. Maybe it's time to tell Darry about the bullying... _But that would only make it worse. I'd be a tattletale. _

Pony just wished the Socs would just back off. They've gone way too far. Pushing him around was one thing, but pushing people around who didn't deserve it? It was cruel! Why couldn't the Socs ever learn to leave the greasers alone? Last time they didn't, Bob was killed. What would happen this time? another Soc? one of them? Just thinking about it gave Ponyboy shivers. The thought of losing another gang member was horrible and unthinkable.

"_I'd_ _kill myself if we lost anyone else. First your parents, then Johnnycake and Dallas_…"

Two-Bit's words rang through Pony's ears. Two-Bit was too smart to do that, but Pony realized what Two-Bit was telling him earlier that day was right. The Socs wouldn't stop picking on them, not until they were happy, and the only way to make them happy was to give them what they wanted.

But Pony couldn't give them what they wanted. He had so much to lose-so much to see and do. He didn't quite understand why the Socs have been extra mean, they only did this kind of stuff when they were drunk. Of course they'd jump you and beat you up when they were sober, but not all the time. They were nicer with what they did to you, but not anymore. Drunk or not drunk the Socs were meaner than ever.

After being gone for about fifteen minutes, Darry and Two-Bit came through the front door. Darry appeared to be unharmed but Two-Bit had two bruises on both his cheeks, a split lip that was beginning to swell, and a bloody nose. The two of them didn't say a word and walked straight to the kitchen. Darry got ice out of the freezer to put in a plastic bag. After wrapping a towel around it, he handed it to Two-Bit to put in his lip, and then gave the eighteen year old a paper towel for his bleeding nose.

Ponyboy leaned against the door frame and watched, quietly waiting for someone to break the silence. But no one did. Darry seemed too angry to speak, Two-Bit just hadn't been himself for almost the whole day, and Pony didn't know what words to use, so they all just kept quiet.

Darry finally noticed Pony in the doorway. "Ponyboy, do you have any homework?"

Pony sighed. Darry always made sure he did his homework, but today, the fourteen year old's head was somewhere else. He'd rather do anything but homework right now. At least the only assignment due tomorrow was a couple of math problems. He didn't have the energy and wasn't in the mood to do all his homework and if he didn't have to do all of it, he wasn't going to.

Ponyboy headed to his room. He shut the door behind him and took a seat at his desk before flipping through the pages of his Algebra textbook.

"Two-Bit, what exactly happened today? Why didn't you two go home with Steve?" Darry's frustrated voice was muffled through the walls, but Pony could still hear every word that was said.

Two-Bit told Darry about Steve being sick and that they had to walk home. He told him everything about the walk home and what happened after Two-Bit told Pony to hide and go find Darry. Apparently the Socs had him cornered with no way out, just like they did to Pony the day before on his walk home. Two-Bit tried to joke his way out of a fight but it didn't work. Two-Bit would've been willing to fight if he wasn't badly outnumbered, but when he was, he knew fighting wasn't the best option so he always tried to talk them out of it. Sometimes his strategy worked, sometimes it didn't, this was one of those times Darry showed up the Socs said a few things and ran off, being afraid of Darry since he was so big.

The kitchen got quiet for a moment and then Two-Bit opened his mouth. "But Darry, I think they were after somethin'."

"Like what?"

"Dunno. It's just not usual for them to jump two of us in broad daylight, maybe one of us, but not two."

Darry let out a sigh. Pony could tell his oldest brother was frustrated just by the sound of his voice. "I just wish those Socs would stay on there side of the town and just leave us alone. It'd sure make things easier around here."

"Ain't that the truth."

o0o

After finishing his algebra, Ponyboy didn't feel like going out and facing Darry. Instead he decided to do his other homework. If all the books he had in his backpack slowed him down on getting to the house he wasn't going to just let them sit there for no reason. If he wasn't going to do his homework then why'd he bring them?

When he finally finished it all, he still stayed in his room. It was four thirty now. Soda wouldn't arrive until another thirty minutes. Steve hopefully and probably wouldn't even come over tonight. If he did, Pony probably wouldn't come out of his room. He hated being sick… but maybe if he didn't have to go to school he'd be okay. But tomorrow was Darry's twenty-first birthday, he couldn't be sick tomorrow.

Ponyboy nearly jumped in his bed when the front door slammed shut. The house went quiet after Darry and Two-Bit talked. It was unusual for their house to be quiet, but nothing seemed normal anymore. After he heard a car start, there was a knock on his bedroom door. Pony didn't say anything but the person invited himself in-Two-Bit. His lip was still swollen but not as bad as it was earlier, and his two bruises were more of a purple color than red.

"Darry left to go to the store to get food for dinner," Two-Bit explained while he grabbed Ponyboy's desk chair turned it around and straddled it. "Listen kid, I know what's going on."

Pony sat upwards in his bed. "What do you mean?"

"The Socs are after you."

The fourteen year old shook his head. "What makes you think that?"

Two-Bit's face never looked so serious. His fist were curled up in tight balls, trying to keep his cool. But Pony could tell the Two-Bit was frustrated. "Quit lying alright? I heard them talking about you before lunch today and then they admitted to it in the lot."

"Two-Bit, you can't tell Darry _or_ Soda!"

"I'm not… Darry's too mad right now. I meant what I said earlier today Ponyboy. Those Socs have taken so much from us, and we can't just sit here and wait to see what they do next! It isn't some TV show or movie, it's reality!" Two-Bit paused for a moment. "There's no harm in asking for help every once in a while. You can't do this on your own. And besides, you're going to tell them, not me."

"Since when do you say speeches?"

Two-Bit shrugged. "I don't know. But Ponyboy, I've never been more serious in my life."

"Yeah, and I can tell. It doesn't fit you very well."

Two-Bit forced a smile. "And that's why I'm not serious very often! So when are you going to tell them?"

Ponyboy shrugged. "Later. Probably after you go home."

Two-Bit nodded not even considering what Ponyboy had told him was a lie. "Good, because I'm tired of acting this way! But next time they pick on you kid, you have to promise me that you'll tell me, because nobody but us are allowed to pick on you!"

Pony forced a smile as well and nodded. "I promise."

Two-Bit got up and left the room, leaving Ponyboy's chair next to the bed and then turned the TV on in the living room.

Pony then sighed. Telling only made things worse, so why do it? It wasn't like Darry or Soda could do anything, and he only saw Steve and Two-Bit during lunch. There was no point to telling and Pony felt guilty for lying to Two-Bit. He got beat up because of him and Pony didn't apologize, and then lied to his face. He felt awful about it, but no one knew how he felt about this whole mess, and if they did, they probably wouldn't tell as well.

Things might have been rough all over, but Ponyboy felt things were extremely over the top rough with him. Why couldn't he just have a normal life? He wished Johnny never stabbed Bob so he could've just died then instead of suffer now. He wasn't suffering that much then than he was now. Right now drowning felt like a wonderful way to die. At least he wouldn't have to deal with what was going on right now.

_Maybe things would be better if I was dead?_

Pony's hand felt the top of his pocket. His switchblade was in there. He put it there right before he ran out of the bushes because he was sure that he wasn't going to run into the Socs while he ran home to get help. Ponyboy couldn't help but think would he actually be crazy enough to use it? He didn't know. If he did, he'd be able to escape the Socs forever. Heaven sounded like paradise to him. His parents were there. Dallas. Johnny. Maybe it wasn't a crazy thought after all.

The front door opened, and Sodapop's voice began to greet Two-Bit but Pony never heard him finished his sentence. He figured Soda saw Two-Bit's disgusting looking face and didn't know what to say.

_The face that I caused. This would've never happened if I wasn't here._

_If I wasn't here, things would be a lot better. _

"Where's Darry and Pony?" Soda's voice asked on the other side of the -Bit quickly responded to Soda and before Pony knew it, his seventeen year old brother opened his bedroom door and sat backwards in the chair Two-Bit never put back.

"So I didn't want to ask him, but what happened to Two-Bit?"

Pony quickly thought of a response. "Some Socs jumped us today."

"Why aren't you hurt?"

Pony wished he was hurt. He would've felt better about the situation. It never should've been Two-Bit, but it was. And if there was some sort of time machine, Ponyboy would do anything to be able to use it. However, time machines don't exist and no one would probably ever be able to invent one unfortunately.

"Two-Bit told me to go and get Darry and Darry wouldn't let me help after I found him."

Soda nodded. "Figures. So why are you hanging out in her by yourself? You seem to always isolate yourself lately."

"I… I just don't feel well."

Soda looked satisfied with his answer. He told his brother to feel better and left, to join Two-Bit in the living room to watch Mickey Mouse and Ponyboy's hand still rested on the top of his jean's pocket.

_It should've been me who gotten beat up-not Two-Bit. Maybe I can give the Socs what they want._

Pony got out of his bed and began to tidy up his room. He wasn't a very messy person and it was easier to get ready for school in the morning if his school books weren't scattered all over the place. After putting his desk chair where it belonged, he neatly started to stuff books into his backpack. His elbow banged against his biology book on his desk and it fell to the floor with a thud. The book landed flipped opened so when Ponyboy picked it up, a folded piece of paper was acting as a bookmark in the book. He never noticed it before.

He took the paper out of the book a unraveled it. It was a note from of course Shane.

_Meet us at the grocery store tomorrow. -S. W._

* * *

**_I hope this is a satisfying chapter. What do you think will happen next? I'm sorry this chapter was also a little slow, but I hope you enjoyed the cliff hanger! I probably won't update until next week because I have finals coming up(yuck) and unfortunately have to study for that. So just bare with me._**

**_Also I apologize for grammar/typos. I proofread this but I didn't very quickly with a hyper dog jumping in my face. So forgive me for mistakes. I'm only human, and also thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this! Keep it up, alright? I also am open to advice. I love to improve my writing!_**

**_-Michelle Loves Chocolate 99_**


	4. Missing

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Four: "Missing"**

_Wednesday January 5th, 1966_

Soda watched his little brother with concern that morning. It was their older brother, Darrel's birthday but Ponyboy didn't say anything but wish him a happy birthday. He sat quiet and Soda noticed that Two-Bit realized it too. Sodapop desperately wanted to ask what was making Pony so uneasy, but choose not to. He didn't want to be the one to cause trouble on Darry's birthday for bringing that up. Darry worked too hard and deserved to have a great day.

It wasn't just today that Pony seemed edgy either. He had been that way for months now and lately it seemed to be more obvious. Not only that but he secludes himself from the gang as much as he can. He goes out on his own, and vanishes into his bedroom. He hardly ever has a conversation with anyone. That conversation he had with him when he got home was as much as he'd ever got from him now, and Soda was beginning to miss his younger brother. He was hoping with what was going on today would brighten up Pony's mood, but it didn't.

After they ate their breakfast, Pony, Two-Bit, and Steve took off for school, while Darry and Soda headed towards their jobs. Soda sat quietly in the passenger seat with nothing else on his mind but Ponyboy as Darry had drove toward the DX gas station.

"You okay?" Darry asked as he slowed to a stop at the yellow light that quickly turned red.

Soda looked up at his older brother, and nodded his head. "Yeah, just thinkin'."

"What about?" Darry asked, pushing his foot gently on the gas pedal as the light changed to green.

Soda shook his head. "I dunno. Nothin' important."

Darry knew something was wrong with Soda, but he let it slide-for now at least. He'd figure it out later because he knew Soda didn't want to talk about it yet.

When they reached the gas station, Soda leaped out of the truck and pulled his cap over his head. He turned and smiled at Darry before shutting the passenger door. "Be careful on the roof today, it may still be icy."

Darry nodded. "I'll be fine, I'll see you tonight!"

o0o

Steve parted away from Two-Bit and Ponyboy very quickly and headed straight into the building after telling Two-Bit and Pony that he wanted to leave right after school ended today-that he wasn't going to wait. He was still under the weather but had forced himself to go to school. Homework wasn't something he wanted bucket loads of even though he rarely ever did it, and besides he didn't want to be hanging around his house all day long alone.

Two-Bit turned to Pony. "Kid, I thought I heard you say last night that you'd tell them when I left!"

Ponyboy tried to ignore Two-Bit and began to walk toward the school building, but Two-Bit put his hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "Come on Pony, you're going to get yourself hurt and Steve or I won't be there to stop them."

Pony looked Two-Bit in the eyes. "Trust me Two-Bit. They don't need to know about this. The problem is fixed."

A stunned look appeared on Two-Bit's face. "What are you talking about Ponyboy?"

"It's settled. They are going to back off now. So just chill, alright?"

"I'm trying to look after you-"

"I don't need to be looked after! I can handle myself," Ponyboy cut him off, but paused for a second. He looked Two-Bit in the eyes and gave him a reassuring face. "Trust me."

The older boy sighed. "Whatever."

Two-Bit walked away and Pony followed closely behind. After they entered the school building, the two greasers parted ways and headed towards their lockers. Unknown to Two-Bit that was the last he was going to hear from Ponyboy Curtis in a long time.

o0o

When school ended, Two-Bit did not see Ponyboy by his locker. Knowing his combination, Two-Bit spun the dial on the lock and the door popped opened. Pony's books and backpack weren't in there. The junior then shut the door a figured he probably was with Steve at his car, but when he got to Steve's car, Steve was impatiently waiting for the two of them.

"Where's the kid?" Steve asked with annoyance in his voice. He was never fond of Ponyboy and thought he was just a tag-a-long. He could care less if the kid was eaten by wolves.

Two-Bit shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. I thought he was out here with you. His backpack is out of his locker."

Steve turn the key and began to pull out of his parking spot. "Probably walked home or went to the library without telling us. Geez, sometimes I wish that kid would tell us where he is going for once. I could already be home by now! Anyway why didn't he eat lunch with us today?"

Two-Bit shrugged his shoulders again. "I dunno, but if you don't mind, I don't really like playing the game of twenty questions so could we please do something else?"

Steve rolled his eyes, and continued his focus on driving as he pulled out of the school parking lot. It had seemed like the drive was taking longer than usual because of his throbbing headache. Hopefully the Curtis' had medicine at their house that he could take. He definitely was going to call in sick to work when he got to the house.

When they got to the house, no one was there as they had expected. Darry and Soda were still at work and if Pony was walking home or went to the library he wouldn't be here until another ten to twenty minutes.

Steve immediately headed towards the bathroom and examined the medicine cabinet for the correct bottle, and before he was able to pop the pill into his mouth, Two-Bit turned the TV on and made sure the volume was as high as it could possibly go. Although it made Steve's head pound harder and faster, he ignored it and layed down on the couch, muffling the noise with only a small pillow pressed against one of his ears.

"Hey Two-Bit, why don't you clean up a bit while I nap before Darry gets home, and turn the TV off while you do it," Steve muttered while his eyes were shut tight. The pillow was not working as well as he had wanted it to unfortunately.

"Nah buddy, I'm good, but thanks for the suggestion."

Steve groaned both from pain and frustration. Sometimes he absolutely hated Two-Bit and this was one of those times. "It wasn't a suggestion."

Two-Bit let out a sigh and turned off the television set. He was a lousy cleaner, and he never enjoyed doing it but he was not going to win this fight especially with Steve being sick. If Pony were here he'd probably still be watching Mickey Mouse, but he was still on his way home. He'd just have to do the best he could until Ponyboy walked through that doorway and then he'd get to go back to watching cartoons!

After about five minutes of shuffling papers on the coffee table and sweeping the floor, Two-Bit plopped down on the wood floor again after turning the TV back on because he got too bored of cleaning. Steve had fallen asleep when he was in the middle of "cleaning" the living room for Darry and luckily Steve could sleep through absolutely anything.

Time went by and Pony still wasn't home. Two-Bit tried his best not to think the worse. Pony probably was getting a lot of books from the library and there was a long check out line! It was possible and Two-Bit believed it. Pony was probably walking out of the building that exact moment. He'd be home soon. There was nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing.

Then ten minutes passed and then another ten. Darry was going to be home from work soon, followed by Soda. Ponyboy's behavior that morning-he was more jumpier than normal. What if something really happened to him? Two-Bit couldn't help but think it even though he tried his best.

"_The problem is fixed. It's settled. They are going to back off now. I can handle myself. Trust me."_

Everything Pony had been saying lately were all complete lies. So what made what he said this morning any different? He might have trusted him because the look in his eyes but they were still lies. Problems like that don't patch up overnight like that. Why couldn't the kid use his head? Why couldn't he just admit that he needed help? Why did he have to be so stubborn? It didn't make sense at all. If people were treating him like that, he would have alerted someone, so why did Pony not do the same?

The sound of Darry's struck pulling up shook Two-Bit from his thoughts. _Shit._ It had been an hour and a half since school let out. Pony wasn't here yet but Darry was. What was he suppose to tell him? _Happy Birthday Darry! Sorry to inform you, but I think Ponyboy is in big trouble. _That didn't seem right. Maybe Darry would believe he was still at the library, still in that very long line waiting to check out fifty books. He's probably next up to the counter and fishing out his library card right now! But Two-Bit didn't believe that was true, so why would Darry?

The door opened and Darry walked into his house, he looked over at Steve's motionless body and then over a Two-Bit.

"Hey Two-Bit," he greeted softly, trying not to wake up Steve even though the TV was blasting through the house. "How's your lip?"

Two-Bit completely forgot about his injured face. He brushed his finger against the cut and thought of what happened yesterday. Those Socs would probably do something a million times worse than what they did to him yesterday to Ponyboy. They _hated_ Ponyboy much more than Two-Bit and they didn't even really fight, they just talked a lot as they surrounded him.

"It's better." Two-Bit put his hand down. "Thanks for asking. How was work?"

Darry just shrugged as he took off his tool belt and placed it down on the table Two-Bit "cleared" off. "Couldn't do much of anything. Roof's too icy, so we just sort of cleaned up the little mess we made. We'd probably be able to get up there tomorrow because it's startin' to melt."

Two-Bit nodded as if he was paying attention, but truth was he had no idea of what Darry just said. His mind was on Ponyboy. The kid was up to something that had to do with the Socs.

"Is Pony in his room?" Darry asked, and Two-Bit jumped. Should he lie? Or course not! Darry was too big and scary. Darry probably would be very mad if he found out Two-Bit lied.

"Uh… he wanted to walk home from school. I think he went to the library afterwards. Probably needed something for homework."

Darry's eyes widen. "Two-Bit that was and hour and a half ago! He should be home by now! You'd think the kid would have thought that going out alone was a bad idea from what had happened yesterday! What was the kid thinking?"

"I don't know Darry, but I'm sure he's on his way now. Or maybe we went to the DX to hang out with Soda afterwards. Who knows?"

Darry shook his head. "I sure hope you're right Two-Bit."

_I sure hope so as well._

o0o

Darry started supper about twenty minutes later, hoping that Pony would arrive home with Soda soon. Pony should've been making dinner since it was Darry's birthday but since he was not home, Steve was passed out on the couch, and Two-Bit probably would've caught the house on fire, it was best that Darry did the cooking that night. While Darry cooked, Two-Bit snuck into Pony's room. Knowing the kid, he probably had a journal of some sort, or something that would tell Two-Bit what was going on. He only knew the kid was being pushed around for reasons Two-Bit did not wasn't just because he was a greaser though.

After looking under pillows and the mattress for a diary Two-Bit decided to give up. There wasn't any good hiding spots in his and Soda's bedroom, but before walking out, he spotted a white piece paper on the ground by Pony's desk. It had crease marks and wrinkles all over it from being folded up. Two-Bit read the sentence three times before folding it up and pocketing it. The kid need to learn to dispose notes like this, but at the same time Two-Bit was happy that he did not.

Two-Bit walked out of Pony's room and headed out the front door, only to see Sodapop walking up the front steps onto the porch, alas Pony was not with him.

"Hey Two-Bit, where you headed?" Soda asked happily.

Two-Bit immediately forced a fake smile. "I'm headed to the store. I forgot to get Darry a present. I'll be back!" It wasn't a total lie. He was going to the store, and would probably lift something for Darry afterwards.

Soda nodded. "Okay, see ya at dinner!"

When Two-Bit got the the store, he immediately headed for the back. There was an alley back there and if anyone told you to go meet someone at the store, they meant the alley. There was nothing there but some drug deal going on. The parking lot was empty except for cars, shopping carts, and people carrying groceries out and he didn't see Ponyboy inside the store either.

Pony wasn't there.

Two-Bit sighed. He didn't quite know what to do now. Ponyboy was missing. What was he suppose to tell Darry? to Soda? He had no clue.

Two-Bit decided to head towards the library. It was the last possible place for Pony to be, otherwise he had no idea where the youngest greaser was.

* * *

**Hey you guys, sorry it's been a while(about a week 1/2) I had school, am working on the conclusion of another story, and also tying up bits and pieces to this story. I hope this was a great chapter, it wasn't in Ponyboy's POV which I hope you liked. This story I don't expect to be very long, but I am not finished planning out everything for it so until then I still won't have an accerate chapter estimate. Right now I'm going to say about ten chapters, maybe fifteen, but I will let you know when I finished planning.**

**I also didn't mean to have this happen ON Darry's birthday, it was just irony and well sorry Darry this had to happen to you on your birthday.**

**Thanks for reading, and I am opened up to reviews from anybody! I really like to hear advice to improve my writing. I'll try to update soon, but if I don't update before Christmas then Merry Christmas if you celebrate it! I**

**-MLC99**


	5. A Hit to the Head

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Five: "A Hit to the Head"**

_Wednesday January 5th, 1966_

Two-Bit Matthews had no luck at the library. He had no luck anywhere. He reluctantly opened the front door to the Curtis' house. He wasn't thrilled to be the one to deliver the news to Soda and especially Darry. If Ponyboy just listened to him he might have not disappeared!

Sodapop ran into the room as he heard the front door open and Darry was directly behind him. They seemed upset to see Two-Bit's face instead of their little brother's.

"Wow! I never seen anyone this excited to see me before!" Two-Bit cheerfully exclaimed before he watched their faces turn from hope to disappointment. "I take it he still hasn't shown up?"

Soda shook his head and Darry went back into the kitchen. It was six thirty now and dinner needed to be reheated because they were waiting on Ponyboy before they ate. "I thought you said you went out to go get a gift for Darry?"

Two-Bit nodded his head and handed Soda the piece of paper that was stuffed in his jean pocket. "Couldn't find him at all Soda. I'm sorry. I looked everywhere."

Soda took the paper and unraveled it. He read it and looked up at Two-Bit. "What's this?"

"I found it on yours and Pony's bedroom floor. I made him promise me he'd tell you and Darry last night but apparently he didn't. Those Socs who ran into us yesterday weren't just jumping us. They were after your brother. I dunno what, but those Socs want somethin' from your brother and won't stop pickin' on him until he gives it to them."

Darry overheard the conversation and immediately had burst into the room and Soda handed him the note from Shane.

Two-Bit looked at Darry guiltily. "I checked the store, but he wasn't there, then I went to the library, the lot, the DX, and the park. I'm sorry I couldn't find him."

Darry shook his head. "I don't get it. Why didn't he want to tell us?"

"He probably felt embarrassed or thought the Socs would maybe come after us as well," Steve mumbled sleepily from the couch. Two-Bit was a little startled because he didn't notice him there when he got back.

Soda turned to Darry. "What are we going to do? We can't just sit here!"

Darry pinched his nose. "Let's go look for him. Steve you stay here just in case he comes back and since your sick I don't want you gettin' worse. If we don't find him in twenty minutes we'll come back. If he doesn't come home tonight, I'll take off work tomorrow and call the police at three. We can't report him missing until he's been gone for twenty-four hours."

With that, the three boys left the house and split up only to return twenty minutes later without any luck. When they got back to the house, they all ate Darry's birthday dinner in silence.

o0o

Pony didn't quite know where he was. His head throbbed and ached and his vision was a little cloudy. He slowly leaned up, closing his eyes as he rubbed his temples. He was very confused of what had happened.

When his vision cleared, he noticed he was lying on a couch. However he couldn't tell you who's couch it was. He never sat or seen it before and he didn't even know who's living room he was in.

"Wh-where am I?" He thought out loud.

A woman who looked to be in her mid sixties came rushing in when she heard the small voice. Ponyboy didn't even recognize her.

"Mark!" she called as she rushed towards the fourteen year old, wiping her hands on her pale blue apron. "He's awake!"

A man who was about a few years older than her walked in. His hair was as white as snow and wrinkles covered his face. He smiled as he saw Pony's eyes opened. "Ah… see Deborah! I told you he didn't need to see a doctor, he's just find!"

Deborah attempted to gently reached out her hand to feel Pony's forehead but he dodged it. He wasn't going to let some stranger touch him. For all he knew she could have kidnapped him! Mark stood behind his wife and put his hands on her shoulders as she looked up at him.

"W-who are you? Wh-where am I-I? Wh-what hap-happened?" Pony stammered over his words not knowing exactly what to say and from being a little scared.

"We were actually hoping that you could tell us what happened," the old man said. "My name is Mark Sanders and this is my wife Deborah. We were on our way to dinner when we found you wandering on the street in pretty bad shape. We pulled over to ask you if you needed a ride but you passed out before you could even answer."

"I wanted to take you to the hospital but he wouldn't let me," Deborah calmly added.

Mark rolled his eyes and ignored his wife. "What's your name son?"

Pony debated if he should trust them or not, but after a moment of hesitation, he gave them his name and got the expected reaction.

"Ponyboy Curtis?" Deborah's eyebrows knitted wondering if that was the truth or not. "Are you sure about that? It seems you have taken a good hit to your head."

Pony nodded. "Positive. May I ask what time it is? How long have I been asleep?"

"Ten thirty. We found you about a quarter to five."

_Shit! _Pony's eyes grew big. Darry was going to be pissed. Not only was he out on a school night but it was his big brother's birthday as well. How was he exposed to explain this? That he had no idea how and why he ended up at some old couple's house? Darry would surely have a cow!

"You alright son?" Mark asked Pony feeling a little concerned. "Do you want us to take you to the doctor?"

Pony slowly shook his head. "No Mr. Sanders, I'm fine. Thank you for taking me in, but I must get going."

"I can drive you home son if you…" Ponyboy didn't quite hear and understand what Mr. Sanders was saying because when he stood up, it was like the whole house began to spin in circles. "Ponyboy?"

Pony couldn't even answer Mr. Sanders because before he knew it everything went black.

o0o

It wasn't until twelve thirty when the phone rang. Darry quickly picked up the receiver as he stood from his recliner.

"Hello," he anxiously said hoping to hear Ponyboy's voice on the other line, instead he had gotten soft female voice. Definitely not Ponyboy. His face dropped like it had when he saw Two-Bit instead of Pony earlier that day.

"Hello, I am looking for Darrel Curtis Jr.."

"This is him."

"I apologize for calling this late at night and if I woke you," she began. Darry was already up-everyone except Steve who fell back asleep after dinner was up waiting for Pony. " I am calling from St. Mary's Hospital. My records say that you are the legal guardian of a Ponyboy Curtis, am I correct?"

Darry nodded despite the fact she could not see him. "Yes ma'am, is he alright?"

"Ponyboy was brought in about an hour and a half ago. I am sorry for the delay in getting a hold of you. It is abnormally busy here tonight due to a bus accident that happened a few hours ago and we have a huge list of family members to contact. I can assure you Ponyboy was not in that accident, but given my status I don't know what is wrong with him or why he is here. We just need you to come down and fill out and sign some papers for us as soon as possible."

"Yes, I will be there as soon as I possibly can."

Darry hung up the phone and quickly turned to Two-Bit and Soda who were both already up on their feet waiting to hear the news.

"He's at the hospital. The lady didn't say why and didn't know. She said we are needed immediately."

The three boys briskly grabbed their jackets and were quickly out the door leaving Steve asleep on the couch. Darry drove over the speed limit and ran red lights due to the empty streets. No one was ever out at such a late hour. He was glad by the time they arrived at the hospital he had not ran into any cops.

The three greasers hurried into the building and up to the hospital reception desk.

"Ponyboy Curtis," Darry said to one of the two young ladies at the desk. "He was brought in about an hour and a half ago."

She went through the many files that were scattered all over the desk. It took her only a few moments to locate Pony's but to the three greasers it felt like years. "Aha!" she said pulling it out of the pile. She read through it quickly before she looked up at the boys.

"Yes, I need you to sign a couple of things and do a little paperwork just to make sure nothing has changed over the past few months from his last visit. His doctor will be out shortly to talk to you." She handed Darry a couple of papers attached to a clipboard and one of the many pens she had in a cup on her desk.

The waiting room was packed with people who were obviously waiting for news as well. The lady on the phone was right, they were busy tonight. The three took the last three chairs in the room and Darry began to fill out the papers.

"What do you think happened to him?" Soda asked quietly trying not to disturb the other waiters.

Darry sighed. "I wish I knew little buddy. The lady who was on the phone said she didn't have an information and usually people who work at reception desk hardly know things."

"You think he's gonna be okay?" Soda asked another question.

Two-Bit nodded. "Of course he's gonna be okay Soda! It's Ponyboy we're talkin' about here! He's a tough kid."

Darry got up and returned the papers to the lady at the desk. As soon as he sat back down a doctor walked into the room. Everyone who was in there looked up, all eager to know if their loved ones were okay.

"Darrel Curtis and Mark Sanders," the doctor said looking up from his clipboard, the three greasers stood up as well as an elderly couple. Everyone else was disappointed the doctor didn't come out for them. The doctor lead them out of the waiting room, down a couple of halls to in front of a closed door.

Two-Bit and Soda looked at each other wondering why the doctor wanted to talk to the strangers as well. Darry just seemed to ignore it and was only focused on the doctor, not noticing the couple at all.

"My name is Dr. Reynolds. I have been looking after Ponyboy. It seems he did get hit in the head pretty hard-hard enough to give him a mild concussion which is why he passed out." He turned to the couple. "You got him here just in time."

Doctor Reynolds looked down and glanced at his clipboard quickly before speaking again. "We are currently waiting for test results to come in. I want to keep Ponyboy overnight just to make sure there isn't any severe damage, which I am pretty sure there isn't, but I do like to be one-hundred percent sure before he is released. I suggest you keep him out of school for the rest of the week and he can return on Monday. You can see him now if you like, but I'm sure he's still sleeping right now. I do ask only family members to go in there however."

"Thank you doctor," Darry politely said before the doctor took off down the hall. Darry then turned to the elderly couple as the man said his name. "Thank you for bringing him here, but may I ask how he wound up here?"

"You're welcome. We saw him walking home, he was looking like he had gotten beat up and we asked him if we could give him a ride, but he passed out. At first we didn't think he had a serious injury. Our son, he used to get into fights all the time so we were used to these sort of things happening. We took him to our home hoping he would wake up. He did but he fainted again. I am very sorry we didn't get him here sooner."

"It's alright. It was nice meeting you Mr. and Mrs. Sanders. Thanks a lot." Darry firmly shook their hands and entered the room with Sodapop trailing behind him.

Mrs. Sanders held out a jacket that was in her arms, handing it to Two-Bit. "Here is his jacket. It's getting very late and we must be going. I hope Ponyboy gets better."

"Yeah, uh thanks!" Two-Bit told her as the couple walked off. He folded Pony's jacket over his arm. Doing so, he realized something was in his pocket. Two-Bit was shocked to pull out Soda's old switchblade.

* * *

**Good news! Now that my other chapter story is technically completed that means I will only be working on one FF project which is OTI! So that means more writing time for this story. Warning you though when I have to go back to school after X-mas break then that will take a lot of time out of my writing. Bright side about going back to school is that the next book we are reading in English class is the Outsiders! So I'm super excited that next semester should be easier because I love that book so much!**

**Thanks for your reviews you guys! Remember that when any author gets reviews, it encourages them to write more! So don't forget to review if you want a quicker update! ;)**

**Since Christmas Eve is tomorrow, I want to wish everyone a Merry Chirstmas! I hope you have a great day! Happy Holidays to all who celebrate them!**

**-Michelle Loves Chocolate 99**


	6. Home Sweet Home

_**Happy New Year(or New Year's Eve depending on time zone)! **_

* * *

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Six: "Home Sweet Home"**

_Thursday January 6th, 1966_

As soon as Soda had entered Pony's room he didn't even bother to look at his sleeping little brother, instead he immediately shut the door behind him and gave Darry a pleading look.

"You can't yell at him Darry," Soda begged. "Please, not yet. We need to talk to him first."

Darry sat in one of the two chairs that were placed in the room, and Soda remained standing. He just couldn't put up with sitting still any longer. Darry shook his head. "I just wish he would have told us somethin' Sodapop. You think he'd tell us somethin' and you'd think he'd be smart enough and not go and meet up with these guys."

Soda sighed. "I know Darry, and I'll talk to him about that. _We'll_ talk to him about that, just don't yell at him about it. He hates you yelling at him all the time."

"Well if he hates it so much than maybe he should stop asking for me to do so! If he would have told one of us about this then maybe I wouldn't have to yell at him."

Soda look at down at the floor as he decided to take a seat. He knew Darry would still get mad if Pony had told someone about the Socs. He understood why Pony didn't want Darry to know about this, but why didn't Pony tell him? He was trustworthy. He was his big brother and he was suppose to protect him. This whole hospital thing could have easily been prevented and Soda wished Pony would have understood that. Darry was right, Ponyboy didn't use his head when it came to this sort of things. And as much as Soda didn't want to admit it, that was the one thing he hated about his little brother.

Soda grabbed Pony's fragile hand off the hospital bed and wrapped his two hands around it as he thought quietly to himself. _Only if Pony would have told us…_

"S-Soda?" Pony's small voice broke up Soda's thought cloud and he gently smiled at his youngest brother. "Where am I?"

Soda looked up at Darry who just sat quietly. Soda figured that was best since he'd probably yell even if he tried to speak gently. Soda looked back down at Ponyboy. "Hospital. You remember how ya got here?"

Pony let out a shaky breath and nodded his head. "I-I'm sorry," he apologized and turned his head towards Darry. "I'm so sorry I didn't say anything Darry."

Darry nodded his head. "That's alright Ponyboy," he said as gentle as he could. "We'll talk about that later, now go back to sleep."

Once Pony fell back asleep, Darry and Soda left the room to find Two-Bit in the hall and the three of them went home before Steve woke up to an empty house and got curious. Two-Bit slept over and got comfortable in the recliner since Steve took up the whole couch, and Darry and Soda went to their own rooms.

Two-Bit switched positions in his sleep. He was never one to stay still. He was a restless sleeper. Of course Two-Bit wasn't as restless as Pony was, but he still moved a lot in his sleep. He woke up feeling the metal items in his pocket. He forgot to take his and Soda's switchblades out of his pocket.

Remembering how dangerous it could be sleeping with a switchblade especially when you couldn't sleep still, Two-Bit put his foot rest down and snuck into Soda and Pony's room, hoping not to wake Soda when putting his stolen switchblade where Soda had thought it was at and then crept back into Darry's chair drifting back into sleep.

o0o

Pony was grateful when the Darry came and picked him up the next morning. He hated hospitals. He might not have remembered the last time he was there but the time before that Pony had witnessed his best friend die right in front of him. Just thinking of the word "hospital" gave the fourteen year old shivers. It always reminded him of Johnny and he hated thinking about his death.

Steve was feeling better but both he and Two-Bit ditched school that day, wanting to hear the scolding Pony was going to get from Darry and the two of them also wanted to hear the story of what had happened as well. Darry really didn't mind them staying around. Maybe if Pony said names Two-Bit and Steve could take care of them at school even though Two-Bit already knew what they had looked like as well as Darry, names were still important.

But Pony of course did not want to talk about it. He remembered exactly what had happened but refused to speak about it. And Darry was getting frustrated but tried his best to keep his cool.

"C'mon Pony, we can't help you if you don't speak up!" Darry slightly raised his voice but still kept it in control. "You can't keep going on with life hiding things from us. You're skating on thin ice Ponyboy and what happened last night is causing it to start crackin'. We know you were in that alley behind the store, so you can't keep denying that anything happened 'cause obviously somethin' did happen."

"They tried to kill me that's what happened," the auburn mumbled trying not to relive the things that were said and done the previous night. "I'd thought only one of them would be there but I was wrong."

"Then why did you go?" Steve asked his voice had more frustration and anger in it than Darry had. He always hated how the kid didn't have any common sense. Even though the kid was Soda's kid brother, he couldn't stand the kid for making so many mistakes. He never used his head. "Why couldn't you use that smart head of yours and tell one of us or not even show?"

"If I didn't show they'd get mad and they'd gang up on me more. They want me dead and they aren't going to stop until I am."

"What makes you think that Ponyboy?" gently asked Soda. He and Two-Bit were the only ones who were calm.

"Because they told me!" Ponyboy was now on the list of frustrated people in. He wished they'd understand but they couldn't and that's one of the reasons Pony didn't want any of them to find out.

Steve rolled his eyes. "How'd you get out anyway? It was like what? Five against one? How'd you make it out being so outnumbered."

Pony shrugged. "I dunno. Everything is a little blurry after getting knocked in the head with a rock. The next thing I knew was that I was at that one couple's house and then I was in the hospital."

Darry sighed. "Well Ponyboy next time anything like this happens tell someone other than Two-Bit, and Two-Bit next time he tells you anything like this, report it to one of us sooner than you did. This whole trip to the hospital thing could have easily been prevented if you would've spoke up."

"Sorry," Pony mumbled quietly and Darry got up to go fix lunch.

That night, Pony slept more peacefully and soundly than he had ever since the bullying had begun just a few months ago. He finally felt relieved now that he knew this situation was going to get taken care of before it got out of hand.

o0o

Shane Whitfield felt furious. He could feel the anger just boiling up in his body like cooking spaghetti noodles. If that boy didn't get medical attention things would be alright. He probably wouldn't have made it. But Ponyboy Curtis did.

"Damn it Derek! Why'd you do that, huh?" Shane yelled at one of his Soc gang members. He needed to take his rage out on somebody and it might as well be the one who caused the issue.

"It's all your fault that fucking kid is still alive! Do you even remember why we are doing this? Do you?!" Shane paused for just a moment taking a swig of his alcohol. "We're doing this because that boy is a murderer! He killed Bob, and Bob was a great friend of ours. We're doing this for revenge. We're doing this for Bob! Why Randy and the others aren't helping us out, I dunno but we are doing this for Bob! Don't you have any respect for him?"

Derek's face got red from anger. "It's not my fault my parents found out about this! It's not my fault we got caught!"

"It's all your fault! You're lucky your parents didn't call the police and made up that story about finding him roaming the streets!" Shane took another gulp from his flask.

"Can't we just leave the kid alone?" Derek bitterly yelled at Shane. "He didn't do anything that night and that is exactly why Randy and the others don't want to help! It was the other kid who stabbed Bob, not Ponyboy! Why can't we just drop it? The kid who killed Bob is dead! I think we tortured Ponyboy enough. We already got our revenge!"

"Shut up!" Shane threw a punch at Derek's face. Derek stepped backwards from dizziness and blood came pouring out of his broken nose. The other members of the gang stood in silence as they watched Derek's blood drip onto the cement ground.

"Why do you even care about _Ponyboy Curtis_?" Shane spat out Pony's name in disgust. He could not stand the kid and because of Derek he had to live another day knowing the kid who took Bob's life was still walking and breathing on Earth.

Derek knew that he should protest against Shane but he was just so angry he could control his actions. Words just flew out of his mouth before his mind could even think. "He didn't do anything! The kid who killed Bob is dead! Ponyboy didn't even have a knife that night. he may carry one now but he didn't a few months ago! He doesn't deserve being tortured!"

Shane's temper grew at the furious teenager that stood in front of him. Without hesitation and thinking things through, the drunk teen dropped his flask and and threw another punch at the Soc's face. He put all his strength, energy, and fury into his arm as his fist struck Derek, impacting on his right temple. Derek fell and didn't get up.

Shane pick up his flask and took another swig at it, watching Derek Sander's motionless body. He did not care about what he did to Derek whatsoever. The only thing he thought about was his anger and how Derek ticked him off even more when some of the liquid in his flask spilled when he dropped it.

Shane turned to the other three Soc's in his gang. "Anybody else going to cross me?" Nobody dared to say a word. They were all too shocked about what they had just witnessed.

"Good. Very good. Now let's get the hell outta here before the fuzz show! I'm sure someone already called them!"

o0o

Mrs. Sanders looked at her husband as she sat on the couch next to him. "What are we going to do about him Mark? He could have severely hurt that poor kid if I hadn't happen to see him and those friends of his go behind into the alley when I was shopping."

Mr. Sanders shook his head. "I don't know Deborah. Derek used to be such a good kid. Ever since that friend of his died a few months ago he changed. If he does anything else like this-we can't keep hiding things and making up things for our son's sake. I'll talk to him when he gets home and if we catch him doing anything like this again, I guess we'll just have to call the police. Maybe some jail time for him and those buddies of his will knock some sense into their heads."

Mrs. Sanders opened her mouth to speak but closed it when a someone knocked on the door. She opened the curtains to see a police car parked out in front of their house. "Guess the cops caught him before us this time," she mumbled as she followed her husband to the front door. "I wonder what he did now!"

Mr. Sanders shrugged as he opened up the front door to see two uniformed cops on their porch, but they did not have their son in their custody. "What can I do for you officers?"

One of the officers took a deep breath before speaking. "Mark and Deborah Sanders, there is no easy way to tell you, but we regret to inform you that we believe we have found your son. I'm sorry to tell you this, but he's dead."

* * *

**Hey guys, so I apologize that it took me a while to start this chapter. I already had the chapter outlined and everything since the last time I updated but sometimes I just struggle to find the time and patience to sit down and actually type it. I hope you enjoyed this and next chapter should be a little exciting if everything goes where I want it to go and it should be updated before I have to go back to school.**

**Also if you were wondering, any struck to the temple can lead to brain damage or death depending on how hard the impact was if you didn't know that. Bone fragments shatter there and knocks them into your skull which causes it.**

**Reviews are always a good way to remind me and make me want to update so please don't forget to review. I appreciate every single one of you who is reading this!**

**-MLC 99**


	7. The Switchblade

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Seven: "The Switchblade"**

_Friday January 7th, 1966_

Not only did Pony feel better about the situation, but Steve felt very well when he woke up that cold January morning. His illness was gone and he felt refreshed and had the energy to go to school that day, in fact he was a little excited to get out of the Curtis house to be at school even though he hated school anyway. It just felt nice to not be sick.

Not only Steve, but Two-Bit had spent the night at the Curtis's house for the second night in a row so the house was crazier than normal with four boys getting ready for either work or school. None of them really bothered to wake Ponyboy up. He wasn't going to school today anyway from the doctor's orders. The poor kid wasn't even allowed to read because of his head. Darry made sure to leave a plate of breakfast on the counter for his youngest brother before he left for work.

Even though Steve did not really like Pony, he did miss the kid at school in a way he couldn't put into words. It felt weird without the kid sitting in the backseat of his car, not hearing him talk even though he was quiet about half of the time, and even lunch was a little weird with just Two-Bit around saying his jokes that were starting to get annoying. With the kid not there it kind of felt empty like it did when Soda first dropped out and returning to school after Dally and Johnny died. Luckily Steve knew Pony would be returning to school next week so the empty feeling would eventually fade away when he returned Monday.

However, Steve was glad Pony wasn't there today and he could see it in Two-Bit's eyes that Two-Bit was glad too. It seemed that the news of Ponyboy being in the hospital had filled the school halls and various rumors of why he was there flooded the building along with it. But Steve and Two-Bit both kept their cool when they were asked if any of the rumors were true, and most of them of course weren't.

"What are we going to do now Shane?" The conversation caught Two-Bit and Steve's attention immediately as they were heading out the school building at the end of the day. Two-Bit mentioned to Darry after Pony went to bed last night that he knew the leader of the gang that was after Ponyboy since he had a little chat with him in the lot the other day when they "jumped" him. Two-Bit promised Darry to just ignore the gang at school and to not make the situation worse than it already was but Steve did no such thing. Even if he did promise Darry not to do anything Steve would have broken it. Truth was most promises are usually always broken anyway.

"I dunno man, but we'll figure something out. The kid will show up to school eventually. We'll get him then, figure something out over the weekend. No big deal."

Steve turned around quickly with Two-Bit grabbing his arm, attempting to hold him back. He already knew what was going through Steve's head and Darry was right. The last thing they needed was for this whole situation to get worse and fighting Shane and his gang would only egg them on to hurt Ponyboy. But Steve shook his arm out of Two-Bit's grip as anger entered his body. Ponyboy was his best friend's brother and despite the fact that he didn't care for the kid too much he'd stick up for him because that's how gangs work-you stick up for your friends and they do the same to you. You mess with one of the gang, you mess with the whole pack.

"Leave the kid alone," Steve simply spoke through gritted teeth that held back his anger as much as it could.

Shane shut his locker door and turned toward Steve. His arms were crossed against his chest standing in a dangerous pose. Shane grinned mischievously as he looked at the sixteen year old who would be seventeen in just a few short months. Two-Bit stood still awkwardly not knowing what to do. He couldn't possibly pull Steve out of a fight that easily and unknown to the two greasers, Shane wasn't someone you wanted to fight with, luckily he was sober at the moment and they were on school grounds.

"Come on Steve, let's go. There's no point to talking to trash like that," Two-Bit tried pulling on Steve's bicep again but Steve did not budge and Two-Bit just gave up noticing Steve's eyes locked on Shane's. There was no way Two-Bit could prevent this.

"What makes you think we are grease?" Completely ignoring what Two-Bit told Steve, Shane kept his eyes on Steve not daring to take them off.

"Because I asked you too. Don't even think about laying another finger on that kid or else you're going to regret it. I'm only warning you once!"

"Is that a threat?" Shane chuckled and he heard the snickers from his Soc gang behind him. "Listen grease, don't stand in my way. I'm only warning _you_ once. I'm not the type of person you want to mess with."

"Well the kid isn't the type of person you want to mess with either. He may not look like he can defend himself, but I know a lot of people who _will _hurt you if you don't leave him alone." Steve turned around and began to walked away with Two-Bit.

"Oh and grease," Shane said before Steve could even get two feet away. "Tell Horseboy I said hello for me will you? I missed seeing him in biology class this morning."

Rage built up in Steve's body some more and he quickly turned around before Two-Bit could even react and punched Shane in the face hard enough to give him a black eye. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Steve shouted as Shane held on to his eye. Steve opened his mouth to yell at Shane some more but got cut off unexpectedly.

"STEVE RANDLE!" a teacher's voice yelled and the whole hall got silent as students began to stare. Both the principal and vice principal had witnessed Steve hit the Soc. Before Two-Bit knew it Steve was getting pulled into the principal's office and Shane was smiling victoriously at Steve regardless of his throbbing left eye.

Two-Bit looked at Shane. "Sorry about that Mr. Soc. He has a bit of a temper. Hope your eye gets better."

_Not! _Two-Bit thought bitterly before walking out of the school building, waiting for Steve by his car hoping his friend would be walking out of their any minute. Even though Two-Bit liked school, he did not like the fact that Socs roamed the halls of that place and teachers were always eavesdropping on their conversations. If only Steve would have listened to Two-Bit they could've avoided this whole situation.

It wasn't until about an hour after school was dismissed that Steve finally had come out of the building. Steve angrily slammed his door shut as he jumped in the driver's seat.

"So what's the damage this time?" Two-Bit asked bluntly as they began to drive off.

Steve let out a breath trying his best to calm down. "One day of OSS."

"Bummer."

"You're telling me!" Steve snapped. "Just wait until they call my dad! I'll be staying at Soda's for a month I suppose. He's going to be pissed!"

"You know Steve, you can always crash at my place if you want. My mom won't mind."

o0o

Steve dropped Two-Bit off at the house and drove off quickly hoping to make it to work on time due to being stuck in the principal's office for about an hour discussing about how wrong it is to hit people even when they make you mad.

Two-Bit opened the door to find Ponyboy lying on the couch staring at the ceiling blankly. Two-Bit couldn't help but laugh. "Boring day huh?"

Pony sat up and shrugged. "I can't read or doing anything the requires a lot of thinking, there is nothing on TV, and I've been home alone for like six, seven, eight hours? Somewhere around there. Anyway, why are you home late?"

Two-Bit looked at the clock for a second then back at Ponyboy. "Uh Pony, can I talk to you about somethin'?" Pony didn't respond, quietly waiting for Two-Bit to continue. "Uh Wednesday when you were in the hospital I was given your jacket and found Soda's switchblade…"

"You're the one who took it?" Pony asked and seemed to relax a little bit. "I thought I left it in the alley."

Two-Bit shook his head. "Uh no, I put it back where it belongs before your brother notices it's missing and puts the puzzle pieces together."

Pony nodded. "Good idea. So um… you're not gonna tell them are you?"

The older boy shook his head and pulled something out of his back pocket. "It's not a life or death situation like last time so no. In fact, I am giving you this, or well lending you this until this whole mess blows over with, but when that happens, I want that back before any of your brothers find out I gave you a blade, got that? If either of them found out I gave you that they'd skin me. This is just our little secret."

Pony nodded again and pocketed the switchblade Two-Bit had given him. "Thanks Two-Bit!"

Two-Bit walked over to the television set and turned it on before sitting back on the couch next to Pony. Both of them sat in silence for several minutes. Darry was going to pull up in a few minutes. Two-Bit looked back over at Pony.

"By the way kid, I don't think those Socs will be bothering you for a while."

The fourteen year old looked at Two-Bit, his face was filled with confusion. "How come?"

"Let's just say Steve kind of had a chat with them, oh and I think it'd be best if you don't even say a word to Steve either. He got OSS for a day and he's pretty pissed off about that."

Pony sighed, although he wasn't surprised. "What'd he do this time?"

Two-Bit shifted in his seat wondering if it was best to tell Ponyboy the truth or not. "He slugged some Soc in the face and got caught by the principal."

"Figures. Who was it?"

"Shane Whitfield," he mumbled not bothering to look Ponyboy in the face but looked into the TV screen instead.

Pony was quiet for a moment or two before he spoke. "W-why…" he began but knew that was a foolish question to ask. He already knew the answer. "Two-Bit, do you really think that will stop them? Honestly, I don't think that will stop them. Steve can threaten them all he wants but they… they don't stop at anything."

"I ain't gonna lie to you Pony, but it probably won't stop them. But we can just hope that maybe Steve's actions might have… postponed their… plans. Hopefully long enough for us to figure somethin' out 'cause we don't gotta plan."

It went silent again for another five or ten minutes until they heard the sound of Darry's engine pulling up. "Two-Bit?" Pony asked quietly as Darry shut the truck's door.

Two-Bit looked over at the fourteen year old. "Yeah?"

"I sure hope you are right about this. I sure hope what Steve did helped out."

Two-Bit nodded. "Me too kid. And Pony, don't worry about this, alright? We'll figure somethin' out. We'll get out of this situation."

Pony nodded. "But Two-Bit, about what you said the other day, if this doesn't turn out okay, can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Don't kill you do don't kill yourself or do anything stupid."

Two-Bit nodded as Darry walked through the door, they all said hello before Darry went to go take a shower.

"Man, I'll always do stupid things Ponyboy! But I promise I'll try not to get myself killed like Dallas."

Ponyboy gently smiled. "Thanks Two-Bit."

"Anytime kid."

_Anytime._

* * *

**Hey you guys, so I hope this was a great chapter. Things are going to start picking up pretty soon before the story ends. (I did tell you this wasn't going to be a very long story, didn't I?)**

**_Keep the reviews coming please!_ Honestly, I have most of this story outlined. Most of the time I kill off a character or two in my stories. I already killed one of the Socs to show you what kind of a person Shane is and how the gang doesn't like doing what they are doing. But Pony's life is on the line in this story and I can't decide if I am going to kill him or not.**

**So yes what I am saying is if you don't review, Pony may not come out of... what is to come for him(evil laugh). So do consider taking one tiny minute to simply type a word or two into the box below and click the big rectangle labled "POST REVIEW" you don't even have to log in to review! For Ponyboy! Do it for Ponyboy!**

**Thanks for reading and stay tuned, things are going to get interesting! Don't forget to review! PLEASE!**

**-Michelle Loves Chocolate 99**


	8. Cornered

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Eight: "Cornered"**

_Monday January 10th, 1966_

"Come on Darry!" Soda argued with his older brother. It was a rare event to happen in their family and today just happened to be one of those rare days. "You can't possibly let him go to school today!"

"Soda he already missed two days in a room this semester, and last semester he was long enough I lost count of. Soda he needs to go to school so he won't fall behind again!" Darry tried to keep his calm but it was hard.

"He won't fall behind Darry! He pulled through last time, he can pull through again! He can't go to school with those Socs hanging around Darry! Something bad is going to happen. I… I can feel it!"

Darry sighed. "Sodapop, I get your point, but lounging around the house all day isn't healthy for him either."

"He can hang out with me at work!"

"Soda-"

"Come on Dar! Please!" Soda begged desperately.

"Guys, I'll be fine," Pony chimed in feeling awkward sitting on the couch watching his older brothers go at it with each other. He wanted them to stop but he knew he was powerless against them. Stubbornness ran in the family.

Two-Bit walked through the door."HELLLOOOO Curtises!" He grinned cheerfully without looking at the scene. "Uh… lovely morning you're having I can see."

Darry slid his arms into the sleeves of his jacket before zipping it up. "Sodapop just let it go. Two-Bit will be there, so will Steve. He'll be fine." Darry turned to Two-Bit. "You two are going to look after him, right?"

Two-Bit turned to Pony who seemed to sink down into the chair. Obviously Pony didn't tell his brothers what Steve had done Friday and Steve didn't tell Soda either. They had no idea!

"I will be with him every possible second Darry. You can count on me Sir! But uh Steve won't be able to report to guard duty today but will be tomorrow."

Soda tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Not knowing how either of the two oldest Curtis brothers would react, Two-Bit took a step back. "Well Stevie… he got himself caught doing something… wrong Friday. He got an out of school suspension for today and can't come back until tomorrow. But don't worry! Two-Bit Mathews will have everything under control!"

"See Darry! Another perfectly good reason to pull him out of his classes today!" Soda screamed again at his big brother and Two-Bit felt a little hurt.

"Soda I'm sure they won't do anything stupid on school property anyway. He's going to school if you like it or not. End of discussion. Now come on, if we keep yellin' at each other we both are going to be late for work!"

Soda felt defeated and reluctantly walked out of the house following Darry. Two-Bit looked over at Pony. "Well now that the unhappy couple is gone, you ready to go to school? We have to walk 'cause my car wouldn't start this morning."

Pony nodded as he stood up and threw his backpack over his shoulder. "Two-Bit maybe it's time to invest for a new car."

"Shoot kid! That means I gotta get a job and I think my momma would die of a heart attack if I told her I was heading to work one day!"

"You're probably right. I would've done the same."

"See! And plus I'm gonna have Steve and your brother fix it this weekend. No worries!"

o0o

Two-Bit kept an eye on Ponyboy the whole time. He even snuck out of classes early so that he could be there the second Pony walked out of one of his classrooms. Pony was already stressed over the fact his brothers were arguing that morning and Two-Bit following him every second he wasn't in class nearly drove him nuts. He was grateful for Two-Bit for what he was doing for him but a little privacy would be nice and also Shane was giving him looks when Two-Bit wasn't paying attention during passing periods. It was like having Two-Bit act like a bodyguard was making Shane more angrier and Pony knew he wasn't someone he wanted to anger.

"So what was with all the fuss at your house this mornin'? Your two brothers never fight with each other," Two-Bit asked at lunch. Despite the cold temperatures, the two greasers were sitting up against the school building smoking. They weren't the only greasers out there, but the two kept to themselves.

Pony shrugged. "Soda doesn't want me to be here today because of the Socs and Darry doesn't want me to miss so much school that it would become a repeat of last semester. Soda was angry and Darry was Darry."

"WHAT! They don't trust _me_?"

Pony laughed. "I guess not Two-Bit. I think it's just really the fact that even if you do good job on keeping an eye on me that the one second you're not watching me something bad will happen."

"Well I still feel crushed for Soda thinking I am too irresponsible to babysit you! I mean come on, I'm not that bad, right?"

"Well Two-Bit the last time I checked a responsible person doesn't sneak out of class ten minutes early. How are you doing that anyway?"

"My awesome spy and ninja skills!"

"Whatever Two-Bit, but really you don't have to sneak out. I doubt they'd pull anythin' stupid between passing period the two seconds I don't see you. They ain't that stupid."

"I dunno kid. Socs are unpredictable sometimes, and besides I promised your big brother and well I'm not looking forward to what would happen to me if I break that promise."

Pony shrugged. "Darry can be intimidating sometimes I guess."

"Especially when it comes to his baby brother!" Two-Bit teased as he put out his cigarette and Pony did the same as he rolled his eyes.

"But I'm sure he won't find out if you don't sneak out of class Two-Bit. It's not like Darry can see what we're doin' or anythin'."

"Kid a good bodyguard does not slack even when the boss isn't lookin'! Now I am sneaking out of class for the rest of the day and nobody is going to stop me! Now lets get you to your next class since lunch is almost over."

o0o

English was Pony's next class-his best class. And well he already finished the book they were reading in Mr. Syme's class the day he got it which was almost a week ago. He already knew everything that was happening and it was a boring book anyway. So while the class read the book, Pony just pretended to read along while he thought.

He knew Two-Bit meant well about this, but it really bothered Pony. It wasn't the fact that seeing Two-Bit all the time was bothering him but the fact that Pony was worried about Two-Bit. Last time Two-Bit walked with Pony, Two-Bit got beat up. Two-Bit took the injuries Ponyboy should have received and Pony felt guilty everytime he say the yellow bruise and the almost healed up split lip. His injuries were just a reminder to Pony that the Socs wouldn't just go after him but anyone who stood in their way. The thought of Two-Bit getting badly beat up again… well Superman wouldn't be able to come to the rescue this time…

That thought made Pony suddenly feel sick and Mr. Syme noticed the fact that his face was as white as a ghost.

"Ponyboy," Mr. Syme began. "Are you alright?"

Pony didn't know why he shook his head instead of nodding, but he couldn't undo what was already done. "Can I go use the bathroom?"

The English teacher nodded and handed Pony a hall pass before he left the room. Before Pony knew it he was running down the hall to the boys bathroom and was throwing up the second he got into a stall. He felt slightly glad that he didn't bother to eat anything at lunch today otherwise he would've ate for no reason just like his breakfast.

He flushed the toilet and went to the sink to wash his face off in the cold water. It felt so good and refreshing against his skin. It was when Pony began to dry his face with paper towels that he notice the bathroom door open and four Socs walk in-Shane and his gang, but where was the fifth? Pony didn't know and wasn't too concerned. Maybe there was always just four of them and he was just imaginating the fifth. He didn't know.

"What do you want?" Pony asked flatly as he threw away the damp paper towels. He already knew the answer to the question but it felt like the only right thing to say at the moment.

"What'cha think?" Shane asked as he pulled out his switchblade from his pocket. He flipped it opened and the silver metal sparkled off the bathroom lighting. "Bob's dead because of you. He was a great friend of ours and you took his life. A life for a life, right?"

Pony thought for a second. He needed to think of a plan and buy himself sometime. He knew he couldn't scream because Shane was inching toward him with a blade in his hands. So what should he do?

Pony back up against the wall. "You ain't going to kill me on school property now. That's just not a very bright thing to do, don't cha think? My screams would be heard and teachers would be in here any second. You'll be caught and sent to jail."

"You think we're really that stupid greaser?" Shane was now just an inch from Pony's nose as the fourteen year old leaned back as far as he possibly could into the wall. The other three teenagers surrounded him. If he screamed he'd die and he couldn't possibly run at all. He couldn't reach for Two-Bit's switchblade in his back pocket without leaning off the wall and into Shane's knife. He was surrounded with no way out.

The bathroom door opened but Pony could not see who it was. _Is it a teacher? Another student? Oh God, I hope it's not the fifth Soc!_

Shane gave one of the other Socs a glare, and that Soc pulled out his switchblade. He yelled something at the poor freshmen who walked that Pony couldn't exactly understand. He was more focused on how to get out of this and about how he never really said goodbye to his brothers this morning. And oh Lord, poor Two-Bit! He'll have to face the wrath of both Darry and Soda! Hopefully Two-Bit will live up to his promise though…

"Now grease, you're just going to feel a little pinch." Pony wasn't quite sure what the Soc on the left was talking about until he felt a needle pierce the skin on his arm. His head felt heavy and the room began to spin. Everything started to blur before everything was black.

_I'm sorry Two-Bit,_ was the last thing Ponyboy thought before seeping into the darkness.

o0o

Two-Bit waited outside Mr. Syme's room impatiently. The bell was going to ring any second now. The greaser looked down at his wrist. _7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2-_

_**RING!**_

_Nice timing Mathews!_

Two-Bit stood up of the floor and watched as students flooded the halls, and waited for Pony to walk out of that English class so he could take him to Algebra but Pony never exited those doors. Two-Bit peaked in to find the classroom totally empty except for the teacher and Ponyboy's school supplies laying on top of one of the desk.

"Mr. Syme, where's Ponyboy?" Two-Bit asked after double checking the room for his friend.

The teacher shrugged. "Ponyboy didn't look so well during class so I sent him to the bathroom about twenty minutes ago. If he's not there he might have gone the the nurse's office."

_Oh shit! _

Two-Bit ran down the hall and peaked in the school clinic.

No Ponyboy.

_This can't be happening! _

He ran a little farther to the restroom.

No Ponyboy.

_Where are you Pony? _

Two-Bit ran to Pony's locker hoping the kid just forget to go back and get his books from Mr. Syme's.

No Ponyboy.

_Goddamn it! What am I going to tell Darry!?_

Two-Bit ran to the school payphone. He got the number for Darry's work site and dialed it. He gulped as it began to ring. After the third ring, Darry's site manager picked up.

"I need to speak to Darrel Curtis. It's an emergency!" Two-Bit never felt so serious speaking into the phone.

After about five minutes Darry picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Darry it's Two-Bit. I was in class and…. I dunno know… I'm sorry… I don't know what happened!"

"Two-Bit, what's wrong?"

"He's gone Darry! He just disappeared into thin air or somthin'! I dunno. His teacher said he didn't look good and sent him out of the room and now I can't find him! I'm sorry Darry I didn't mean to let this happen!"

"It's not your fault Two-Bit," he spoke through the speaker. "What… what are we going to do now Two-Bit?"

Two-Bit sighed. "I dunno Darry. But I'm gonna go out and look for him right now. Don't worry Darry. I lost him and I'm going to find him!"

"I just wish I listened to Soda this morning… he's going to be devastated that he's missing again… what if this time-"

"SHUT UP DARRY! Don't talk like that! I'm going to find him. _We're_ going to find him!"

"I sure hope you're right Two-Bit."

_I sure hope so as well._

* * *

**_Oh snap! What's going to happen? Well the more reviews I get the sooner you'll find out! Don't forget I still can't decided if I should do a happy ending, a not so happy but happy at the same time ending, or a unhappy ending. Reviewing helps my decisions! So please don't forget to do so! Ponyboy would appreciate it..._**

**_Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews I have gotten! I go back to school today(actually I am about to walk out of the door to go there) so updates may not be as frequent. Bright side the next book we read in English class is the Outsiders so this semester should and hopefully have an easy start. This would be like by what? 7th time reading it? I don't know... lost count a long time ago. How many times have you guys read this book? _**

**_-MLC 99_**


	9. Kidnapped

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Nine: "Kidnapped"**

_Tuesday January 11th, 1966_

His vision was cloudy when he first opened his eyes. The colors were all smeared together and he wasn't able to to really see anything until his vision came into focus. He had no idea where he was and he had a splitting headache. It was just like when he woke up at the Sanders' house all over again only this time his hands and feet were tied to a wooden kitchen chair and he would do about anything to smoke a cigarette.

"Hello?" Pony yelled only to find out the noise he made caused his head to throb even more. He had a lot of headaches before but this was one of the worse. He felt horrible! Absolutely horrible!

"Shut up or I am going to tape your mouth shut!" a voice hollered in the distance. Pony was too focused on who just spoke that his head suddenly stopped hurting so bad.

Someone that was probably about Soda's height walked into the room and suddenly Ponyboy remembered everything. The bathroom. The drug. That someone was Shane Whitfield.

"How long have I been out? What did you give me?" The questions seemed to roll out of his lips before he could even think of what to say.

Shane just grinned widely. "We gave you something to keep you unconscious long enough. Don't worry though, it's pretty much harmless… or at least we think. You've been out for over twenty-four hours. I just came home from school."

"Why… why am I still alive? You want me dead so why aren't I?"

"I want you to suffer Ponyboy. I ain't letting you off the hook that easily for your crime. Bob wouldn't like that."

"Well how do you know that Bob would like you doing this?"

"Shut up. That mouth of yours is really going to put you into some trouble ya hear me? Shut up and be quiet or I'm going to make you shut up!"

Pony sat up straighter in his chair without saying a word. Shane smiled. "Good boy. Now I'll see ya later."

An hour went by. Then another one and then another one. Time went very slow when you were tied to a chair, couldn't move, wasn't allowed to speak unless spoken too, starving, was craving a cigarette, and really needed to use the bathroom. It felt like three days to Ponyboy since Shane left, not three hours.

Shane didn't come back and Pony wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing because instead of Shane, he got the rest of the pack, or at least three of them. Pony still didn't know where the fourth guy was, but he wasn't too concerned about that. He had his own problems to worry about. He could get killed!

"Relax kid, we ain't gonna hurt you," the smaller Soc said gently. He untied Pony's hands and feet. "Shane isn't here. The bathroom is right over there. Take care of whatever you need and then when you come out you can eat. Don't think about escaping though. We're trying to help you."

Not sure if the Soc was lying or not, Pony really didn't care. He did what the Soc commanded him to do and didn't hesitate. He really wanted to use the bathroom for crying out loud and then eat to satisfy his grumbling tummy. When Pony came back, the Socs gave him a hamburger and a water.

"Slow it down kid, you're gonna make yourself sick!" the small Soc said. "Now listen. My name's Freddie, this is Zach, and Ethan. We're sorry you got yourself way into this mess. Honestly the three of us didn't expect this to go this far. We only meant to scare you. And then last week when Shane wrote the note to you was when we found out he was serious about killing you. The other guy in our gang, Derek, he told Shane he pretty much wanted out and didn't want to kill you. We would've said the same thing but because of Derek's bravery Shane killed him. If we don't participate, we pretty much die too."

"What Freddie is trying to say is that we're really sorry about this-about what is going to happen. It's just…"

Pony nodded. "It's alright. I get it. I'm going to die. C-could you do me a favor though?"

"Anything," Ethan said without hesitation.

"C-could I write a letter? A goodbye letter to my family and friends… I just don't want to not say goodbye to them."

"Sure kid." Ethan handed Pony a piece of notebook paper and a pen. "I'll make sure I put it in your mailbox before we skip town without Shane knowing."

Pony took the pen and paper instantly and began writing. Writing always came easy to Pony but this particular letter was difficult. How do you tell someone you love so much goodbye? He never got the chance to say goodbye to his parents, to Johnny or Dally, luckily he'll be able to see them soon… well hopefully Dally will be in heaven you'd never know with him. Dally was always full of surprises.

**Dear Darry and Soda,**

**I don't know where to begin really. If you haven't found out by now, I should be dead by the time you're reading this. Shane's gang is kind enough to allow me to write this and said they'd deliver this as soon as they could. It seems like life is always too short for all of us. Maybe we are all meant to die young and early. I don't know. But I'm going to miss you two and I sure hope you're going to miss me too!**

**Darry I'm sorry about all the things I did to cause you to worry. I hope you'll be able to forgive me. I'm sorry I prevented you to go to college. I always felt guilty over that. I never ever wanted to hold you back from following your dreams and I'm sorry I did. Go back to school when you can. Do whatever it was that you wanted to do. Have fun for once in your life but please make sure Soda doesn't go crazy about me.**

**Soda I'm sorry that this had to end this way, but please don't blame Darry for this. It wasn't his fault or Two-Bit's. In fact I don't even know how they found me but they did. I'm going to be in a better place, I'll be happy there so please just don't go nuts okay? I'll see you soon, but not too soon alright?**

**Make sure Two-Bit knows this is ****NOT ****his fault. Don't get mad at him about this. If it's anyone's fault it's mine for getting in the mess with Bob Sheldon a few months ago. Tell Two-Bit that. He'll go crazy if he thinks it's his fault, and tell Steve thanks for me!**

**Love,**

**Ponyboy Curtis**

Pony folded up the paper into a square and neatly printed Darry's and Soda's names as nice as his penmanship would allow it. It's not that he had bad handwriting, it's legible but it's not perfect. The fourteen year old then handed Ethan the paper.

"I'm sure you guys know my address, correct?"

Zach nodded. "Yep, we've been following your tracks for a while know. We can manage to deliver this to one of your brothers."

"Thanks. It means a lot to me."

"No problem kid. I'm sorry I have to do this, but can I tie you back up?"

Pony nodded. He understood. They were nice enough to him that he should at least return the favor. If Shane found out about this whole deal then they would probably end up like that Derek kid they were telling him about. Pony didn't want anyone else to die and once he was gone then there should be no more lives taken.

"Go ahead."

o0o

"It's all your fault Darry!" Soda yelled at Darry. His voice was filled with so much hate, but tears were filling up his eyes and were going to start streaming down his cheeks any second. "I told you it was too soon! We should have at least waited until Steve was there as well!"

"It's not Darry's fault Soda!" Two-Bit yelled. He wasn't angry, but upset. "It's my fault. It's all my fault. I lost him."

Soda gave Two-Bit a glare. He was about to open his mouth and began yelling at him but Darry immediately stopped it. "The only person's fault it is is Shane and his gang's. It's not Two-Bit's, it's not mine, and it's especially not your's little buddy. Pony will be okay. We'll figure this out. Pony always turns out okay."

Steve nodded. "Darry's right. The kid always pulls through everything he gets himself wound up in. He's always okay. He's lucky."

"I hope you're right," Soda bitterly said before slamming his and Pony's bedroom door closed.

"I hope so too," Darry mumbled and then looked up at Two-Bit and Steve. Darry only seen Two-Bit cry just a handful of times and it sure looked like he could add another time on his hand. "Two-Bit, Steve, whatever Soda says right now, he don't mean it… he'd just not using his head right now."

"I know Darry," Two-Bit sniffled. "It's just I honestly do feel like it's my fault. I should've had ditch all my classes instead of the last few minutes of them. I should've been there when the teacher sent him out yesterday. I was suppose to be watching him. I was suppose to be there. It's-"

"Shut up Two-Bit!" Steve punched Two-Bit in his shoulder. "We're going to find him. It's nobody's fault that Pony disappeared except for the people who made him disappear. The kid isn't stupid enough to run away so he was taken and we'll find him because we know who took him. This will be easy!" Steve looked at the bedroom door that was just slammed a few minutes ago. "Two-Bit you have to be strong. Not only for the kid but for Sodapop."

Darry nodded. "We can't lose hope. We all need to be strong for Soda, he's going to be taking this the hardest out of all of us. If Pony doesn't show up in the next hour I'm callin' the fuzz."

There was a sudden knock on the door. The three greaser just froze and exchanged glances. Was this better than a hospital call or did this mean worse? Or was it just the cops coming by because one of the four got into legal trouble? It was rare for anybody to knock on their door because everyone was welcome.

Darry gulped and twisted the knob to see two cops standing outside the door. "Can I help you officers?"

"Is there a Ponyboy Curtis here?" One of them asked sounding like he wasn't sure if that was the right name.

Darry didn't respond to the question. "What's this about?"

"We found a teenager murdered a few nights ago. His name is Derek Sanders. His parents said that he and his friends were with Ponyboy earlier that day and we were wondering if we could talk to him about that day."

Darry shook his head. "Pony ain't here. He went missing yesterday at school."

The two cops exchanged looks at each other. "He's missing and you didn't bother to file a report?"

"It's only been twenty-four hours. I was just about to call before you knocked on my door."

They nodded even though Darry could tell that the officers didn't believe Darry at all about calling. "My name is Detective Edward Jenkins and this is my partner Detective Kyle Rodgers. Do you have a picture of Ponyboy so we can keep an eye out for him? We'd also need his height and weight."

Darry walked away from the door and went to piano they had where picture frames sat on top of it. Darry pulled the most recent picture they had of Pony and returned to the detectives on the porch. He gave them the photograph and gave them his approximate height and weight just like they had asked.

"We'll find him Mr. Curtis," Detective Rodgers nodded in assurance. "We always do. We'll give you a call if we find anything."

With that the detectives left. Darry shut the door and saw not only Steve and Two-Bit wanting to know what that was all about, but Soda had come out of the bedroom to hear the news as well.

Darry sighed. "'Member the Sanders? Their son was part of the Soc gang that was after Pony. They lied to us and now their son was murdered the night Pony was put into the hospital."

"They don't think he did it Darry, right? They can't poss-"

Darry shook his head and stopped Soda before he could go too far. "They don't suspect him. They just wanted to know what happened that night before he went to the are going to look for him too. Hopefully they'll find him."

"Yeah I sure hope so Darry. So I take it the Sanders didn't just randomly find Ponyboy, but were covering up for their son?"

Darry nodded. "I guess so."

o0o

"The only witness that we could have hoped would speak up about what happened that night is missing!" Jenkins yelled in the passenger seat as Rodgers drove the police car. "We know it had to be one of those friends of his who killed him but who?"

Rodgers looked over at his partner. "Easy. It has to be the the leader-Shane Whitfield. And I bet those kids that were there that night took that kid too and are hiding him so he won't spill information over the murder."

Jenkins shook his head. "Why do you think that? You always come up with the most weirdest conclusions."

Rodgers laughed. "I suppose I do, but am I ever wrong? Let's go have a talk with that Whitefield kid, maybe we can get more information out of this. Hopefully we can pull enough evidence off this soon enough to get a search warrant and hopefully an arrest warrant."

"Why would we need a search warrant?"

"Well if there's a missing kid involved there may be information on that property that points to where they are hiding the kid."

Jenkins sighed. He'd only had this job for only a year and it still made no sense. Why could they just arrest the guy if they knew it was him?

"I just hope that kid isn't dead too."

* * *

**Just to warn you now, chapter ten will have a mega cliffhanger that you will yell at me for. I really think chapter ten will be a very interesting chapter so be ready for it! I hope this chapter was good enough for you. But it isn't going to be as good as the next chapter. Gosh I am so excited to write chapter ten! I hope I can start that tomorrow after school. I got a new laptop today and it is making updating a lot more easier. My old laptop was old and kept freezing up on me... **

**Anyway thanks for all the reviews! It means the world to me! Don't forget to review, I want to know what you think about this chapter and what will happen!**

**Weird**** this chapter takes place on the 11th when today is the 12th of January... hum...**

**-MLC99**


	10. The Investigation

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Ten: " The Investigation"**

_Tuesday January 11th, 1966_

Detectives Jenkins and Rodgers made their way up the front steps to the Whitfield's house. It was unusual for a cop to visit the West side of town but they had to anyway even if it did feel out of place. Sometimes that's what cases did. They could be so complicated that they make you feel different or weird, but that's the sign you're on the right track.

They rang the doorbell and patiently waited for it to open. It was around seven and the sun had already set. The two detectives were hoping that they weren't interrupting the family dinner.

It took about three minutes but Mrs. Whitfield opened the door. "May I help you gentlemen?" Her face was filled with confusion. She didn't have a clue to why police would be knocking at her door.

"Excuse me Miss, I am Detective Kyle Rodgers and this is my partner Edward Jenkins. We were here wondering if we could speak to your son."

"He ain't here. He left just about five minutes ago. May I ask what this is about?"

"Ma'am, a friend of your son has been found dead the other night. He was murdered. Took an awful hit to the head sending skull fragments into his brain which caused it to swell. If we found his body quicker we may have been able to save him, but we came too late."

"Poor kid, who was it? Maybe I can help you."

"Derek Sanders."

The lady looked like she wanted to cry. "Derek? Are you sure about that? Nobody would ever want to do such a thing to him. He's one of the sweetest kids I know."

"That's what we are trying to figure out ma'am. Do you know where your son was between eight thirty and ten on the night of January sixth? It was a Thursday if that helps."

Mrs. Whitfield nodded. "He went out with his friends. I am pretty sure Derek was one of them. He left about six and didn't come back until around eleven. I'm sorry. I don't know where he went just how long he was gone."

"It's not a problem Mrs. Whitfield. Your information helped us out very much actually. Have a wonderful evening."

With that the two detectives left and went to the station. They were silent the whole ride but when they arrived to their desk, they both had the same thing on their minds.

"Those kids were there that night. They know what happened to him, or at least one of them knows." Jenkins felt very confident about what he said. "Shane probably knows the most. If we can track him down and get to talk to him we could figure out who did it and then hopefully find Ponyboy Curtis."

"You're catching on to the job Jenkins! But like I told you, I still bet it's Shane who killed the Sanders kid. If it wasn't him, it was Ponyboy Curtis and that's why the kid's missing but he was just released from the hospital that night and wasn't really in good shape to go out and do such an activity."

"Rodgers, if they did take Ponyboy then why do you think they would take him?"

"Another lesson you should know Jenkins. The answers always lie in front of you. You just need to open your eyes and use your head. It's like a gigantic puzzle and theories are your way of seeing if the pieces fit." The man took a sip of his coffee. He looked at some files they pulled when they got there on Ponyboy. "Do you remember the teenager about Derek's age who got killed in self defense in the park a few months ago? I knew Ponyboy's name sounded familiar. You just don't forget a name like that. It was Ponyboy's friend Johnny Cade who killed that kid."

Jenkins tilted his head. "So how does a murder that happened four months ago have anything to do with a murder that happened almost a week ago? Are you proposing Derek was killed in self defense?"

"God no! I told you to open your eyes kid. Ponyboy Curtis was in the hospital due to a concussion he got. He couldn't remember what happened after he left school that day but doctors said he had gotten beaten up. What I'm saying Jenkins is that it was Derek Sanders and a few of his friends that beat the kid up. Which explains why the Sanders suggested we talk to the kid and also why the Sanders were the ones to bring the Curtis kid into the hospital. They might have found out what their son was doing to the kid or something."

"So you're saying that those kids are looking for revenge for what had happened to Bob Sheldon?"

The phone rang and Rodgers put his coffee mug down."Yes. That's exactly what I am saying," He said before picking up the phone. "Rodgers."

Jenkins stared and observed his older partner talking on the phone and nodding his head. Being a detective was a tough job but Rodgers made it seem easy for some unknown reason. It was like his partner got everything, understood everything, or maybe even knew who the killer was as soon as he saw the dead body. Rodgers was an amazing detective and Jenkins was glad he had him as a partner. He admired how Rodgers never lost his cool or gave up on a case.

"Yeah thank you. I'd like to talk to him right away. Can you bring him down for me?" Rodgers spoke into the phone sounding so professional. "Alright. Thank you ma'am. I'll see you and your son in a few minutes."

"What now?"

"We have a witness to Ponyboy's kidnapping. He is on his way to talk to us right now."

"So if he says Shane took him we can arrest him?"

Rodgers shook his head. "The witness's statement will support Ponyboy's kidnapping and could possibly help us locating the boy. As for Shane, we only know that he was in the area of the murder. We need to talk to him and the gang members to get a motive, and we suspect that he was the last person he was with before he was murdered. We can't really do anything about the murder case until we talk to those boys and find Ponyboy, which hopefully we'll find him soon."

The older detective picked up his coffee mug. "Also we still have that empty flask we found at the crime scene and the spilt whiskey. If we can gather more evidence against Shane we can hope we can get a search warrant to see if we can find a bottle to match but still lots of people drink whiskey so if we find a whiskey bottle that isn't enough to convince a jury. Don't worry Jenkins. We'll get this all straightened out eventually but right now, I want to find an alive kid instead of another dead one so lets focus on the Curtis kid. He might give us the information we need to solve this murder case."

Jenkins nodded and before too long a mother and a young teenage boy came in. "Are you Detective Rodgers?" the woman asked gently.

"Yes ma'am I am. Mrs. Morgan, this is my partner Edward Jenkins. Just take a seat and tell us everything you know son."

The boy and his mother did what they were asked. "I didn't really see much. I just walked in the bathroom and they had him cornered."

"Who was cornered by who?"

"Ponyboy Curtis was cornered by a few Socs. Four of them. They had a switchblade and one of them noticed me and slugged me and told me to keep my mouth shut or they'd come after me. Before I knew it they gave Ponyboy some kind of drug and he was got cold. They snuck his body out of the building."

"Can you give me some names?"

The boy shrugged. "Shane Whitfield was one of them. I don't know the other three's names but they are usually with Shane everytime I see them. There used to be a fourth but he wasn't there when I saw them in the bathroom with Ponyboy."

"Is that everything son?" asked Jenkins.

The boy nodded. "Yes. That's everything."

"Thank you. That will be all. Please enjoy the rest of your night!"

The Morgans left and Jenkins turned to his partner. "So are we going over there now or are we going to wait until after school tomorrow since it's getting late?"

Rodgers got his coat. "Now. Like I said, there is a life on the line and it's been an hour and a half since we left. Shane should hopefully be back at his house by now. If not we can just ask Mrs. Whitfield if we can wait. Maybe she'll even let us search the place. If she lets us, we don't even need a warrant."

o0o

Shane slammed the door very hard, waking Pony up from his short nap. He didn't quite understand why Shane was so angry but he didn't really care. It was what Shane was going to do that Ponyboy was concerned about. Shane Whitfield wasn't someone you wanted to anger especially when he was already plotting on killing you.

"You know what just happened?" He didn't scream but his voice was filled with rage. He probably didn't want to make noise loud enough to cause someone to realize someone was in the guest house.

Pony shook his head like anyone who had no clue to what was going on would. "I was headed out and then I saw a cop car drive by I watched it and it pulled into my driveway! They're gone now but do you know what this means? They are suspicious and they are going to find you! Find _me!"_

Shane kicked Pony in the shins and Pony winced. "Don't make a sound kid. I'm serious. I will make your death very slow and extremely painful if you beg for it so don't make a sound!"

The Soc looked at Ponyboy in disgust and Pony tried to avoid his eyes. "Look at me!" Shane yelled when Pony had his head turned. He slapped the fourteen year olds cheek causing it to turn red. "Don't you know anything about respect? You're suppose to look at people when they are talking to ya!"

"This is all your fault, ya know? You caused this whole problem. If it wasn't for you Bob would still be alive. Those two friends of yours, they'd be alive also. If it wasn't for you this whole mess wouldn't have happened and that's why I hate you! You killed Bob, and people like you should be punished. Going to jail ain't good enough for you. You need to suffer. You have to suffer.

"You probably wonder why I care so much about Robert. I may not have been in his gang, but he was still my buddy. You greaser stick up for each other even when you aren't in each other's outfit. Us Socs don't do that that much but every now and then you'll find someone who cares about another group. I cared about Bob. Randy, David, and the others should have killed you instead of running off that night. But they didn't. Bob died because of you. Because of you two of your friends died as well. You're worthless you know? You cause pain to everyone around you so why are you still living? Someone like you should never live. They should die, don't cha agree? Your parents are already dead anyway. As much as I hate to admit it you'd probably be happier dead than alive."

"So you're saying killing me will put me out of my misery? I thought you wanted me to suffer."

Shane harshly laughed. "I do. I can't believe you thought you were going to heaven after this. You know someone like you would never make it there. I bet your parents are glad they're dead so they could just get away from you. You're pathetic kid, ya know? They just probably couldn't look at you anymore because you were just a reminder to them that you were a failure. Maybe they got into the wreck on propose. Who knows?"

"Shut up!"

"Shut up? What did you just say to me you little…" Pony realized he should've just kept his mouth closed and turned off his hearing then. He never used his head. Lacking common sense was his biggest flaw and it always seemed to cause him trouble. It caused him to get jumped walking home from a movie one night. It caused him to forget a jacket on a very cold night. He also fell asleep outside that night not using his head. He didn't think things through. He just did things without thought.

Shane didn't hesitate the moment Pony said "shut up." As soon as the words slipped from the greaser's mouth, the seventeen year old pulled out a gun from his waistband. He pulled the trigger without even finishing his sentence.

_**BANG!**_

* * *

**Oh snaps! I told you there would be a big cliffhanger, didn't I? Sorry the very beginning was kind of well... boring. I wanted to show that these cops didn't care if someone was a greaser or a Soc. They were nice and didn't judge you by the house you live. They just like to get their job done and I also wanted you to see the process on the investigation. What they were talking about will kind of lead off into the story. And about Pony dying well... I can't give you an answer of yes or no... that would b spoiling... so um... I can still easily decide to take his life or not. Reviews save a life. **

**FOR JOHNNY! DO IT FOR JOHNNY!**

**Thanks for everyone who did review last chapter. I usually thank everyone through PM but some people don' have an account an others have PM disabled so if I don't thank you personally I'm thanking you in this message right here. Your kindness means everything to me! It just makes my day that someone actually likes my work. So thank you for putting a smile on my face. I may update this weekend, if not I will update sometime next week. It depends on homework and other things. **

**As always don' for get to review!**

**-Michelle Loves Chocolate 99**


	11. Dead

_**On Thin Ice**_

**Chapter Eleven: "Dead"**

_Tuesday January 11th, 1966_

_A few minutes earlier..._

Detectives Rodgers and Jenkins rung the doorbell on the Whitfield's house for the second time that evening. Mrs. Whitfield was the one to open the door like last time, and her husband came walking up behind her.

"Sorry to disturb you again Mrs. Whitfield." Rodgers sounded firm and sophisticated. "We just came by to see if your son has returned. We have a new lead to the case, and it's really urgent that we speak to Shane as soon as we see him."

Mrs. Whitfield shook her head. "He's not back yet, I'm sorry. Um, would you like to come in and wait? I don't know how much longer he'll be out."

"Yes ma'am, we'll come inside."

The two police officers stepped inside, and Mrs. Whitfield pointed at the sofa. "You can take a seat."

"Sorry about all this," Mr. Whitfield said to the police. "Shane has been out late nearly every night. He just doesn't listen to us when we tell him to not be out long, or ask where he is going. He completely changed after a friend of his died a few months ago."

Jenkins looked up at Shane's father and asked,"Robert Sheldon?"

Mr. Whitfield nodded. "Yes, they were buddies, not best friends but they'd hang out with each other every so often. They known each other since kindergarten. Shane just couldn't accept that Bob was dead."

The room fell silent for a moment as Jenkins and Rodgers exchanged ' theory about the Sheldon murder being apart of this had some evidence to support it. But always when there's silence, something always has to break it. All four of the adults in the room jumped when a loud pop was heard coming from outside.

o0o

_Shane didn't hesitate the moment Pony said "shut up." As soon as the words slipped from the greaser's mouth, the seventeen year old pulled out a gun from his waistband. He pulled the trigger without even finishing his sentence._

_**BANG!**_

Everything fell into slow motion. That split second the bullet left the gun's barrel and into Pony's abdomen felt like five minutes instead. So many things went through Pony's mind-Sodapop, Darry, Two-Bit, Steve… Pony wondered about Dally. Was this what it felt like that second the first shot at him flew the night of the last rumble they had against the Socs? the night that Johnny died? Pony knew then he was going to die.

He felt a white hot pain enter his belly, but he didn't scream, and he couldn't put his hands over the hole due to his restraints. He could feel the sticky, warm liquid ooze from his body and he felt numb. Shane dropped the weapon as soon as he saw the blood come out of Ponyboy and ran for his life. He wasn't going to risk getting caught. He had to get away.

Even though it felt like hours, the two detectives ran into the guest house the moment Shane was running out the door, but the police officers weren't concerned about the began to untie the ropes as Rodgers puts his hands on Pony's side causing the young greaser to groan in pain.

"It's alright kid. It's gonna be alright. You're gonna be alright."

Jenkins and Mr. Whitfield helped Pony out of the chair and Rodgers kept his hands on the wound. Mrs. Whitfield was standing on the other side of the room, her eyes were locked on the dying fourteen year old as she waited for the other line to pick up.

Pony could hear faint sirens in the distance, coming closer and closer, but he just couldn't keep his eyes opened. His stomach hurt too much and he felt so tired.

"Stay with me kid!" Rodgers yelled desperately, but despite the fact that the detective was right on top of him, his voice sounded like he was hollering from miles away. Pony stopped fighting to keep his eyelids open.

o0o

The next thing Ponyboy knew was that he was no longer in the guest house. He wasn't in a ambulance or a hospital either. It was unknown territory to him.

The room was sort of cloudy like you were in a dream and the air was moist and refreshing. Pony never smelled air that was so pure and clean before. Then Pony realized his side didn't hurt at all, there wasn't even a drop of blood on his once covered shirt.

_That's odd… I could've sworn I was just shot a few seconds ago…_

"Am I dead?" Pony asked aloud in a room he thought he was alone in. He jumped as a figure stepped into the picture and said, "No kid. It's too early for ya."

"Dallas?" Pony was stunned. He had to be going crazy. Seeing dead people just wasn't something a sane person had experienced.

"The one and only, why ya here man? Shouldn't you be doing school work or something rather than visiting this place?"

Pony just simply shrugged, not quite sure what to say. He was really confused on what was happening. "I...I think I was just shot…how am I still alive? If you're here than shouldn't I be dead?"

"You're _dying_ kid. You have a choice. Either fight this, survive and live that happy successful life we all knew you would live or you could come with me and see Johnny and your folks. I'm here to deliver the message. So what's it gonna be kid? Life or death?"

Pony opened his mouth, but Dally shushed him. "Listen Ponyboy. You're fourteen years old! Johnnycake only lived to be sixteen and he didn't want to die. I wanted to die and lived to seventeen, but that's not the point. The point is is that you have a life to live-things to see and do. You have your two big brothers… Soda would probably go insane if you died, and Darry probably wouldn't be Superman anymore. I told you he was worried sick about you when you were in Windrixville. We all thought Johnny was the one who kept the gang together, but when he and I left, you guys got stronger. We were all wrong about that kid. It's you who would cause us to all crumple. Steve probably would get frustrated with Soda and stop hanging around so Two-Bit would probably be left in the dust all alone.

"You're not dead yet kid, but you are going to be soon. It's your choice to fight and live a good life, or hang around me, and I know we both know how fun that is but make the right choice. For once in your life, use that head of yours kid."

"Dal, will you tell them I said hi? That I miss them?"

"Shoot kid, they already know. You don't think that we're not looking out for you kid? I'll tell them for you but they already know. They miss you too."

"Thanks Dally."

"Any time kid, but glory Ponyboy, I'd love to stay and chat with ya, but you're really wasting your time. You need to be getting back. Good luck kid, and I better not see you until another hundred years, got that?"

Pony widely grinned and nodded. "I'll try my best. Thanks Dally!"

o0o

Darry and Soda ran like their life depended on it up to the front desk. It was like deja vu. It was almost nearly a week ago on Darry's birthday that they were rushing over to the exact same hospital to the exact same reception desk after Pony had gone missing and was found injured. The were hoping that this wasn't going to become a habit of theirs.

"Ponyboy Curtis?"

The nurse had several files on her desk. It was another busy night at the hospital it seemed. A truck hit a bus, and it was a bad collision, but Darry and Soda weren't concerned for their lives rather than for their brother's.

"He's in surgery at the moment. I don't know anything about his condition. His doctor will come and talk to you when he can."

The two Curtis brothers stood against the wall in the emergency waiting room. All the other chairs have been taken by the other people waiting to hear about their loved ones conditions.

_At least it was only a car crash… _Darry couldn't help but think. Those people involved in the accident were more likely to survive compared to what had happened to Ponyboy. Truth was Darry and Soda didn't exactly know what had happened to their brother, but they knew it was more serious than the last time they got a call.

It was a long hour. Darry and Soda both worried about Ponyboy, felt so sad that Darry almost was in tears, and then worried some more. It felt like it was a million years until the doctor had come out rather than an hour.

"Guardian of Ponyboy Curtis?"

Darry and Soda walked away from the wall they have been leaning on for a while and made their way towards the doctor.

"He's stable. The bullet didn't pierce through anything important and we were able to get it out before it could cause any serious damage and stitched him all up. We gave him some more blood due to the amount he had lost. He is currently still asleep but the anesthesia should wear off soon. Ponyboy will be able to go home in a few days and should be back to his regular self in a few weeks. He's young and healthy and should have a full recovery. You can see him now if you'd like."

The two greasers nodded and followed the doctor to their brother's room. Soda's face went pale, and he grabbed Pony's hand as he took a seat by the bed.

"He shot him Dar. He really did attempt to kill him." His voice was sad, but at the same time filled with rage at the person who had done this to his little brother.

Darry nodded his head. "I know little buddy, but everything's going to be alright. Those cops are going to put this man behind bars."

"I sure hope so."

o0o

The next thing Pony knew was that he was no longer with Dally, but in some other place. The boring, white, colorless walls instantly told him he was in a hospital, and the pain he felt on his side reminded him why. Shane Whitfield tried to kill him, and it now dawned on him that this was the right decision. If Pony chose to go with Dally then that would have meant that Shane had won-luckily he didn't.

"Hey Ponyboy, try not to move too much, alright?" Soda's voice made Pony feel a lot better. "You feeling okay Pony?"

"Good considering the situation I guess," Pony whispered to his brother. "Where's Darry?"

"Calling in to work to get tomorrow off. You scared us to death you know? Two-Bit thought it was his fault when you disappeared that day. Then the police came and said that a kid named Derek Sanders was murdered… we didn't know what would happen to you. We were so worried about you."

"I'm sorry Soda."

Sodapop shook his head. "You ain't got nothin' to be sorry about Pony."

"Hey little buddy." Darry's voice made both Pony and Soda jump. "How you feeling?"

"I'm fine Darry. When can I get outta this place?"

Darry rolled his eyes, but gave Pony a soft smile. "As soon as you get well enough. Probably two or three days."

Pony groaned. "Can it be sooner?"

"Don't rush it Pony, alright? You're going to be here as long as it takes for you to get better. Don't argue about it."

o0o

Shane ran until he was far away from the house that those cops wouldn't be able to see him when the ambulance came. Shane knew they would chase him when there was an injured person at the scene. But that wouldn't stop them when the ambulance came to take him away.

_Hopefully it's too late. Hopefully the job is done. Hopefully they won't find me._

Shane got on a bus and took off out of town to a place that hopefully the two detectives on the case would not find him. Shane Whitfield was on the run, and he planned this game of hide and seek to last a long time.

* * *

**Hey you guys! Okay first of all sorry it took longer than I thought for this update. I was busy with school, working on an original story and finish planning out this story completely. The last chapter of this story is going to be chapter 13. So just two more to go I suppose... I'll either have that chapter published the last week of January or the first week of February depending on how much time I can get to write. After this story is completed, I DO plan to write more for the outsiders, but not directly right away after this. Maybe middle of February? I don't know. I really like to read and write about terrible things happening to Ponyboy, but I'm sort of thinking of doing a story about Soda next. Not a long one, just about three-five chapters but that's it. SO keep an eye on it within the next month!**

**I was so happy about the amount of reviews I have gotten over the last chapter. It really made my week really! I got over ten reviews! Thank you guys so much, it means a lot, and just an FYI, I didn't ever plan on killing Ponyboy the whole story, it was just a little bluff to keep you guys on your seats, so I'm sorry for tricking you guys like that. Ponyboy's like my favorite character, I can never kill him! Also I have no idea what heaven really looks like so this is just what I kind of pictured. And I am no doctor as well. So if any of the medical stuff is wrong is because I couldn't find a lot of stuff about what I was searching for. Stay tuned for the ending, I plan chapter 13 to be pretty good! :)**

**Don't forget to review... remember Shane's still out there... free! I wonder what will happen next...**

**-Michelle Loves Chocolate 99**


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